Page 97 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 25 February 2014
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There was mention made about the national quality framework. This is something that has been endorsed across every jurisdiction; it is not just for the ACT alone. What can we do? The Canberra Liberals did not have a policy in the last Assembly; they have not had a policy in the election. And they come here with nothing. This was the Canberra Liberals’ chance to outline to Canberra families what they could do to reduce the cost of child care, and they delivered nothing.
If you look at the influences in cost, you will see that you could have lower quality. I am not prepared to offer lower quality to Canberra families. You could look to lower wages. Why would you do that when they are already considered to be in the lower paid workforce? You could put in more childcare places. Mrs Dunne, in one of her iterations of this, recognised that if you brought in more childcare places, that could affect the market and reduce cost.
Now, though, let me refer to what work we have done in this place around increasing childcare places.
We have seen substantial growth in the number of places over the past decade. For example, in February last year there were 17,504 approved places in the ACT. This year, in February, we have 19,968 approved places. Just in terms of long day care places, this government has delivered a 94 per cent increase in the number of long day care places since we came into office. Mr Hanson has asked what I have done in this area. Between 2011 and 2014, we have increased the number of long day care places by 2,068. If those over there think that this has been an inert, inactive space in meeting the needs of Canberra families, they could not be more wrong. Almost 700 places came into being last year; this year we expect another 600 places to come on line. That is because of the actions that we on this side of the chamber have taken in responding to the needs of Canberra families.
Additional places continue to come online as a result of the $11.9 million put aside for infrastructure over the last few years. Upgrades to five education and care centres have been completed, with a further three under construction and one in the planning stage. Other facilities have been refurbished to bring them up to today’s standards.
As I said, it is anticipated that a further 600 places will be created this year through the government’s clear policies for expanding centres and creating land release.
In the ACT it is also worth mentioning, through you, Mr Assistant Speaker, that the Canberra Liberals focused on cost. This morning, again through the Canberra Liberals, there was an inference about the assessment process and the standards that are coming through there. In the ACT, we have 71.7 per cent of our centre-based cares in the community sector—the highest in the country. The notion there is that, at a high cost, we have over 70 per cent of our services in the community sector. What are the Canberra Liberals implying? That these good community providers are overcharging? Are they charging too much for Canberra families? I think there is a notion that something ought to be done other than increasing the quality of child care and the availability of child care.
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