Page 100 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 25 February 2014
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phasing in of larger increases to reflect the skill level required in, and the importance of, childcare work. We are entrusting our children, and their early childhood learning and day-to-day care, to the staff who work in childcare centres. It is an incredible responsibility, yet the pay rates are well below the average Australian wage.
One of the ironies about this MPI from Mr Hanson is that we have recently seen significant policy changes from the federal government that are directly relevant in this area, including redirecting funding away from supporting childcare workers. One of the early initiatives of the new Abbott federal government last year was to call for the $300 million for the early years quality fund to be withdrawn, causing a significant outcry in the childcare sector. In the end, as contracts had already been signed, some of that money was used for salaries, as was intended, but the rest was diverted to training and development programs for teachers. Whilst training and development are important, it is also important that we pay our childcare workers adequately for the important work that they do. The loss of funds going towards salaries meant that some centres indicated that they would need to put up fees to cover increasing salary costs.
The commonwealth has a major role to play in supporting childcare centre managers to both recruit and retain the best possible staff, and to better negotiate the challenges many services are facing in light of the recent national quality framework. What is actually intended by the commonwealth is a little unclear at this stage. It has tabled a bill in the federal parliament that would extend the freeze on the indexation of the childcare rebate, although the bill has yet to be passed. I imagine we will have to wait until the federal budget, and perhaps the outcome of the audit process, to find out what other plans may be in place for childcare support for families.
Also, we have seen a move by the federal government to ask the Productivity Commission to undertake a public inquiry into future options for child care and early learning. They are due to report in October this year. The terms of reference are quite wide and include reviewing alternative models of care as well as the impact of recent regulatory changes, including the national quality framework. It is not entirely clear to me, or those I talk to, where the federal government is going when it comes to its intent on child care, in terms of standards, policy directions and the support that is available, particularly for ensuring that workers get a decent salary.
The Greens, and my federal colleagues, by contrast, have been very clear. We support increasing assistance to child care across the board by raising the base hourly rate for childcare assistance. We also support targeting further assistance to those most at risk and on the lowest incomes, and streamlining payments so that all payments can go directly to the centres.
In the ACT, the Greens support the government’s policy to build more publicly funded, community-based and not-for-profit childcare facilities. We need to plan these centres strategically and be really mindful of population movements across the city, changing demographics. It is not about just saying, for example, that Gungahlin is the growth area. It is also thinking about a middle suburb like Curtin, where in recent years we have seen a significant influx of younger families repopulating the suburb. There are others around town, but that is one that springs to mind. The Greens
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