Labor prepares to break another child care promise
20th August, 2009
The Rudd Labor Government’s proposed changes to child care and early childhood education could force child care costs to rise by up to $1,500 per child, Federal Member for Wide Bay Warren Truss has warned.“The Rudd Labor Government is preparing to break another election promise by imposing enormous changes and new costs on the early childhood education and childcare sectors,” Mr Truss said.
The Rudd Government is considering proposals to vary child-staff ratios and qualification levels for child care workers that could add between $500 and $1,500 to the cost of childcare.
“Before the election, Rudd Labor promised that they would make childcare more affordable, but if the Government’s child care changes are implemented, industry sources have advised that costs for local families,” Mr Truss said.
“In their haste to impose the heavy hand of Government in children’s lives, they are breaking their election promise made to local parents.”
Mr Truss said that the Government needed to pay greater attention to parents’ concerns, to ensure that the childcare system is capable of delivering what parents want.
In feedback received through the Education Department’s first round of consultations last year, parents were particularly keen to ensure that the National Quality Standards included reference to the health and safety of their children, yet this issue seems to be constantly ignored in the Government’s discussions.
“The Government’s own survey on the Department website fails to even list health and safety as an option when asking parents what the most important factors are when they are deciding on early childhood education and care services. Surely children’s safety should be paramount,” Mr Truss said.
“The Rudd Government needs to ask itself who will benefit from the reforms and what it is they are trying to achieve — at the present time the answer seems to be not children or parents in Wide Bay.”
