Page 1083 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 3 May 2006
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Also in the last few weeks we have heard about thousands of reputedly empty desks in Canberra schools that are costing the ACT government dearly and putting small schools at risk. One important aspect of childcare is that it is not simply childcare; at its best, it is early childhood education. We want quality care although, given the shortage of childcare places, that is not something everyone can insist on. So some of the extra space in our small primary schools should be looked on as early childhood education opportunities.
The cooperative school in O’Connor—a government school from preschool to year 2—is full and has a waiting list. The independent Blue Gum School, also on the northside, runs a highly successful early childhood centre. Canberra Grammar School has responded to demand for early learning by opening a centre in Campbell. There is clearly scope for similar projects on the other side of town where schools have the space. If we are prepared to look at cost in the longer term we will factor in that, for young children at risk of not doing well at school, early childhood education is particularly important.
The ACT government is already host to a number of childcare centres. Out of 41 centres, the ACT government charges no rent at all for 35 and from $10,000 to $80,000 annually for the other seven centres. While all the rent-free facilities are run by incorporated associations, some are small organisations specifically set up to run their centres. Others are large operations such as the YWCA and Communities at Work. The centres which are charged rent are a mix of small business and community organisations, with the Teddy Bears Child Care Centre about to be forced out of a school building in Curtin, paying almost three times the rate at the next one.
Such a disorganised approach to childcare is inefficient and discriminatory. The teddy bear story illustrates other problems as well. The government ruled out co-location in a school campus or direct sale of a block of land so teddy bears could continue because it was a private business. I accept ACOSS’s view that the quality of care in community centres is generally better than that provided by commercial childcare franchises but we cannot presume that private operations are, by necessity, low quality and that all community organisations are, by definition, good. Parents have made it clear that this particular small business is providing high quality childcare.
The ACT government needs to open its mind. The availability of childcare varies across the ACT. There are shortages in many areas, especially suburbs surrounding the inner city and the Woden Valley where many people, including mothers, just happen to work. This motion asks the ACT government to conduct a review of the demand and supply of childcare across the ACT in order to identify areas of unmet demand. Consistent with the ALP’s new national policy, the motion also asks the government to consider a central waiting list for childcare.
Rather than simply looking at waiting lists, we need to consider the social and economic impacts on people struggling with unsatisfactory childcare arrangements; we need to consider the impacts on their health; we need to consider the impacts on their relationships with their children and each other; and we need to consider the impacts on their personal finances by having to take up too much or too little childcare, depending on what is offered. People may have to pay large fees, drive long distances and so on.
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