United Voice News
Coalition’s childcare election policy ignores crisis
LHMU -the children’s services union, says today’s announcement by John Howard of the Coalition’s childcare policy does nothing to address the widely recognised crisis in childcare quality standards.
"It is very disappointing for parents of young children that the Coalition is ignoring the two most important indicators of quality childcare, namely staff-to-child ratios in long day care and workforce training," says Louise Tarrant, National Secretary of the LHMU.
"A new book released today, Kids Count*, has confirmed, yet again, that quality is a major issue in childcare."
The Coalition's policy:
- does nothing to improve standards
- fails to recognise the importance of learning and development in the early years
- offers no additional funding for parents
- lacks a workforce strategy despite the skills crisis
- has not been properly costed
"Quality of childcare has reached crisis point under the Coalition's watch. Today's announcement signals that, if re-elected, the Coalition will do nothing to fix the crisis. If anything, we can expect the crisis to deepen.
"This election campaign has included many accusations of 'me-too' policies. John Howard's announcement today on childcare doesn't come near matching the ALP's policy.
"It's a pity the Coalition hasn't followed Labor's example on this vital policy issue by promising to increase the Childcare Rebate from 30% to 50% and introducing nationally consistent quality standards, quality ranking of centres, a National Early Years Workforce Strategy and building career paths for children's services workers," says Louise Tarrant.
*Kids Count: Better early childhood education and care in Australia, Ed. Elizabeth Hill, Barbara Pocock and Alison Elliott, pub. Sydney University Press.
