‘Cheaper Child Care’ delivers higher fees and no new places for the North-West

Angie Bell MP
Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education
Shadow Minister for Youth
Federal Member for Moncrieff

Gavin Pearce MP
Shadow Assistant Minister for Indigenous Services, Health and Aged Care
Federal Member for Braddon

MEDIA RELEASE
‘Cheaper Child Care’ delivers higher fees and no new places for the North-West

18 July 2023

During the last election, Labor promised families living in Braddon they would be better off, but their ‘cheaper childcare’ policy has only delivered higher fees, longer waitlists, no access and further pressure on the sector.

Federal Member for Braddon, Gavin Pearce, said that the issue we have in the bush – in the working parts of the state – is that the vacancies and supporting staff simply don’t exist.

“Working families are struggling to find a place for their child, so no amount of money or subsidy will help them if there are no services available in the first place – that is the issue here,” Mr Pearce said.

“What we are seeing from the sector, anecdotally, is an increase in the cost of the service, which happens to be roughly the same amount as the subsidy increase.”

“The Federal government can raise the subsidy and make a grand announcement, but parents simply can’t get back to work and that’s effecting productivity – this needs to be a productivity-driven exercise, not just an announcement out of Canberra.”

Many families have been scrambling to find a place for their children or access extra days so they can return to work or study. Instead of accessing those places, they’ve found themselves stuck on waitlists alongside hundreds of other families.

Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education, Angie Bell, said the Albanese Government has left families in a worse position than 12 months ago.

“Labor promised to deliver Australian families lower out of pocket costs, and yet under them, early childhood education fees have already increased by 6.5 per cent in just eight months,” Ms Bell said.

“The almost immediate loss of the subsidy is putting more pressure on many families who are already struggling through this cost-of-living crisis, and the Albanese Government has no plans to help them.

“We warned this Government time and time again that this would happen, and they waved us off, saying fees wouldn’t rise and families would get much needed relief. It’s clear they have no idea what they’re doing.”

During her trip to Tasmania this week, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education, Angie Bell and Mr Pearce will visit a number of early learning centres to discuss the struggles being faced by educators and families.

With no plan to increase access, no plan to address rising fees and no plan to address workforce concerns – it’s clear this Labor Government has no idea what they’re doing.

With out-of-pocket costs rising again, Australian families deserve to know why they’re always worse off under Labor.

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