Television interview with Minister Butler, Sunrise – 24 October 2025

DAVID WOIWOD, HOST: Well, expanding childcare subsidies is set to become a top issue in Canberra with new polling from a Liberal-aligned grassroots campaign revealing that nearly half of all Aussies want parents to be able to spend a childcare subsidy however they choose. Now, loosening the rules to give parents more choice may lead to the funding being spent on other carers outside of childcare centres such as grandparents or nannies. So let's bring in Health Minister Mark Butler and Liberal Senator Jane Hume. Good morning to you both. Mark, would the government support this?
 
MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING, MINISTER FOR DISABILITY AND THE NDIS: We're big supporters of more investment in early learning. We know that 90 per cent of a brain development happens in the first five years of life. There's no more crucial time for education than those first five years. But my three-year-old loves spending time with his grandparents. All three-year-olds do, but it's not the same as the learning experience you get from the local Goodstart Centre where my three-year-old goes. We don’t support this.
 
WOIWOD: So, it’s a no? It’s unlikely that we -
 
BUTLER: We've got to stop treating early education like it's babysitting. You wouldn't think about this for a grade 1 or a grade 2 in junior primary.
 
WOIWOD: A lot of grandparents wouldn't consider it babysitting. They're teaching their grandchildren a lot of lessons. Why shouldn't they be eligible for that subsidy?
 
BUTLER: But every interaction with a 3-year-old is learning. It's not the same as the structured learning you get in early education, any more than it is for a grade 1 or 2 at junior primary school. We wouldn't think of giving the parents the money and letting them choose whether or not to send their kid to school. We shouldn't do this either. We've got to stop treating this area like it's babysitting. It's much more important.
 
WOIWOD: Jane, will the Coalition look at this idea?
 
SENATOR JANE HUME: Of course we'll look at this idea, and that's because it's a good idea. I mean, let's face it, the way that the childcare system is structured now, we're subsidising the childcare workers and we're subsidising the childcare users, and nobody's happy with the outcome. It doesn't work for shift workers. It doesn't work if you're in regional or remote communities. It doesn't work if you've got multiple children of multiple ages. So this one-size-fits-all approach clearly isn't serving Australian families well.
 
Now, I can hear, you know, Mark's cry that early education is not the same as babysitting. Of course, but I'll lay you odds, Mark, that you didn't necessarily go to a childcare centre when you were young and you turned out okay. I think there are alternatives out there. One size fits all doesn't have to fit everybody. This is worth consideration if we want to effectively spend taxpayers' money and serve Australian families well.
 
WOIWOD: Yeah, Mark, you turned out okay. You can back that compliment, I think.
 
Moving on, team. Aussies have slammed the new redesign of the Bureau of Meteorology website with a News Corp poll of more than 6,000 people showing 91 per cent of people want the old design back. Now, people have called it confusing, terrible and an epic fail, and now we know that it costs more than $4 million to actually change it. Mark, what happened to the “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” rule? Is this a wise use of public funds?
 
BUTLER: None of us likes change, particularly for something we use so much. I'm pretty much a daily user of this website. It's one of the most popular websites in the country and we'd love it to stay the same forever, but we needed to update it. I've got to say I'm not a big fan of the Australian sport of bashing the Bureau of Meteorology. They do an amazing job literally predicting the future for us every single day, and as we head into disaster season in particular, we want to make sure that this website is as secure and as reliable and as widely accessible as possible. I'm finding the change difficult like most daily users of the site but I'm sure I'll get there.
 
WOIWOD: I don't think we're bashing the actual Bureau here and the work they do, are we, Jane? But can you justify a $4 million spend on this do you think?
 
HUME: Look, I went and had a look at the website myself and it's not too bad. I mean, it's not terrific. I wouldn't have changed it on a day that there were extreme weather events around the country. I can understand users' frustration at that. Was it worth $4 million? Well, we'll uncover that at Estimates when we'll ask the Bureau of Meteorology a few questions, I'm certain. In the meantime though, we all need to get used to change. And you know, when your favourite website changes, it's always frustrating. It'll take a little time.
 
WOIWOD: Yeah, alright. Finally, team, the PM has arrived home from his week in the United States, keeping it casual. Albo was ditching the suit and tie in favour of a Joy Division t-shirt. Of course, the band there. The opposition leader has faced internal turmoil, however, with some of her own backbenchers resisting calls to sack Kevin Rudd as the Ambassador. Now, Jane, you were one of those backbenchers who publicly disagreed with Leader Sussan Ley. Is it a good look for the Coalition?
 
HUME: Look, to be honest, you know, taking a swing at Kevin Rudd this week was pretty easy. The media did it too because, you know, let's face it, the President made a complete goose of him during that meeting. But Sussan Ley's been pretty consistent on this.
 
WOIWOD: By all reports, he apologised off camera though and it was all kind of smoothed over.
 
HUME: He did, he did. Exactly right. We found that out afterwards. But Sussan Ley's been really clear. We should be constructive where we can and critical where we must. And I didn't think it was necessary to be critical over this critical minerals deal, because it's a good deal for Australia and we should acknowledge the good work where it's done. Now, I'm no fan of Kevin Rudd. Don't get me wrong. Don't get me wrong. But he did a good job on this and that should be acknowledged.
 
WOIWOD: Oh, there you go. Mark, if the PM's go-to shirt is Joy Division, do you have your own rock band t-shirt that we could perhaps be seeing you wear?
 
BUTLER: No, not really. Joy Division's a bit before my time. That whole post-punk era is all a bit grim, I find. I love my Prime Minister. I respect him deeply. I don't share his music taste.
 
WOIWOD: You don’t share his taste?
 
HUME: Maybe a, what do you reckon, maybe like a Wham! Choose Life t-shirt for you, Mark?
 
WOIWOD: I could see you in that, Jane.
 
HUME: I'll do it if you do it.
 
WOIWOD: Alright. thank you team. Talk soon.