Page 311 - Week 01 - Thursday, 17 February 2011
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MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Mrs Burch, would you put your remarks through the chair, please?
MS BURCH: Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. Through you, I urge Mrs Dunne to bring the policy and the costing detail of that to this chamber so that we can be informed and enlightened about how that should be progressed. Those opposite are doing a disservice to the women of the ACT who want to re-enter the workforce after having a child, who want to look for flexibility, choice and peace of mind in childcare. It is not surprising that they fail to come through with any substantive policy. This government is working with the federal government, the childcare sector and families to deliver genuine reform when it comes to the childcare sector.
Just by way of some information about what this government does to support childcare, let me mention the fact that we have brought over a thousand childcare places online over recent times. And in February we will have 118 new places come online, with an additional 60 places that will come online in Barton. That is 180 new places that will come online within the very near future.
Also, DHCS owns buildings that are occupied by 43 childcare centres operated by community groups. That represents 35 per cent of long-day care centre providers in the ACT who are being supported through maintained and upgraded DHCS buildings. Again, that is something that those opposite do not choose to pay much mind to. And that is in addition to the buildings that DET has with its early childhood centres and the buildings that may be owned and managed through TAMS. We upgrade these facilities each and every year through a planned and active program.
We work with the community sector to make sure that childcare is managed but, as I say, we have 2,000 families that are not accessing their entitlements. I think the effort in many ways should be not only about supporting those in childcare centres but about supporting families, the 2,000 families here in the ACT that are not accessing their entitlements. This is something that I am very keen to support. There are families that may be able to access over $7,500. I am sure that many families here in the ACT would welcome an addition of over $7,500 to their family budget.
Finally, on the point that Mr Doszpot made about waiting lists and fees being charged to go on the waiting list, I have asked about that, and 85 per cent of services do not charge a waiting list administrative fee. In relation to those that do charge, IÂ think the range is between $20 and $50. That is a matter for those services. What we do as a government is provide ongoing support. We demonstrate that by providing and maintaining the physical infrastructure for 35 per cent of our long-day care.
I welcome the introduction of the quality reforms and I seriously hope that all those in this Assembly will recognise the benefits of quality education for our children and will support the bill when it is introduced in March.
MS HUNTER (Ginninderra—Parliamentary Convenor, ACT Greens) (3.25): Childcare is an important issue for many families in our community. We did of course discuss this very same matter in an MPI in August last year and no doubt it will
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