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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 6 Hansard (18 June) . . Page.. 1785 ..

Motion (by Mr Humphries) proposed:

That the Assembly do now adjourn.

MR WOOD (4.59): Mr Speaker, I want to make some comments about long-day care centres - bodies that are under some threat from actions of the Federal Government. Parents with young families are worried about the impact that Mr Howard's cuts to child care will have on their lives. I have been contacted by constituents in my electorate who have young children and who are fearful of the effect the proposed changes will have on their child-care arrangements. As from 1 July - two weeks away - the Federal Government will no longer be paying a subsidy to community-based child-care centres. This will mean an increase in fees of at least $20 a week, or perhaps more.

Some parents will find these increases hard to absorb and are already withdrawing their children from these centres as a result. I know of centres with previously large waiting lists which no longer have such lists. I am very worried about the kind of care these children, who have been withdrawn, will now receive. Sydney child-care centres are also reporting a drop in numbers. They say that often these children are now being cared for by unqualified and unsupervised carers in less than ideal circumstances. Affordability is the big issue now. The Federal budget was deafening in its silence with regard to quality.

Under the Federal Labor Government, there was an increase in the number of child-care centres, and these centres all had to be accredited and meet stringent standards of care, staffing and programming. Accredited family day care providers also had to meet certain standards. The forced fee increase will mean that, in future, fewer children will access this quality care. In turn, some of these centres may then be forced to close, with the consequent loss of jobs and provision of care. One of my constituents has told me that these changes mean that her only child will remain an only child for longer than originally planned. She and her husband will not plan for another child until the first child is out of child care and into school, when they can afford that child care. Federal Government policy is now dictating the shape of people's families. What implications will this have for Australia's future? It reminds me of China's one-child policy, and that is certainly twisting the shape of China's future.

I am also concerned about the future for those constituents of mine who are child-care workers. If, as seems likely, there is a decline in the number of children using the services and some centres close, this puts their jobs and career paths at risk. At a time when the child-care industry is struggling to get more recognition for the important contribution it makes to the community, attacks like this on the viability of centres show the Federal Government's low level of commitment to this area. I repeat: Quality child care is under attack from the Federal Liberals. What will this local Liberal Government do to protect it?

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