Another Rudd Labor Broken Promise
22-April-2009
Mr Rudd’s promise to provide preschool for all Australian 4 year olds now officially lies in tatters on the ground, , Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare, Women and Youth Sophie Mirabella said today.
Labor’s Plan for Early Childhood promised that.
“Federal Labor will ensure that all four years olds have access to early learning. All four years olds will be eligible to receive 15 hours of Government-funded early learning programs per week, for a minimum of 40 weeks per year……….As one of the most significant additions to Australia’s education system in more than a generation, a year of universal preschool will take time to implement.
There can be no other interpretation of this promise other than that Labor promised 15 hours of free preschool for all four year olds. Labor’s policy stated that it would be “Government-funded” and that it was “universal preschool”.
However, the website of the Government’s Office of Early Childhood Education and Childcare makes it quite clear that this promise of free preschool for all four year olds is a complete sham.
The Q&A entitled, Universal Access to Early Childhood Education at http://www.deewr.gov.au/EarlyChildhood/OfficeOfEarlyChildhood/Documents/UniversalAccess_111208.pdf asks,
“Does Universal access mean that early childhood education is free?
No. The Australian and state and territory governments have committed to work together to reduce cost as a barrier to accessing quality early childhood education. It will be up to states and territories and providers to determine what cost, if any, will be passed on to parents for 15 hours of early childhood education. Many states and territories already provide free or very low cost early childhood education.”
“It is correct that the cost of preschool in some states and territories is low cost but in states such as NSW it is prohibitively expensive. The fact that it is low cost, however, is beside the point. Even low cost preschool will place it out of reach of those children from families unable to pay anything – those children who often need such early education the most.”
“Labor’s promise has clearly been broken,” Mrs Mirabella said.