GOVERNMENT’S CHILDCARE CONSULTATIONS A SHAM - PARENTS TO PAY MORE
20-August-2009
The Rudd Labor Government’s childcare shake-up has the potential to add even more to the cost of childcare than parents are being told, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education and Childcare Sophie Mirabella said today.
“The consultation process is fundamentally flawed because parents and providers are not being given the full details of the Government’s agenda by any stretch of the imagination,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“Contrary to the Minister’s assertions, parents are not being told how much costs are expected to rise. Before the media stories this week, few parents would have been aware that there was any cost-impact – after all, at the last election Labor promised they would “slash childcare costs for parents”.
“The current consultation process is a sham. The Government wants to be able to claim they have consulted and have broad agreement for their Early Childhood Agenda – when the fact is both parents and providers are being kept in the dark.”
“Even the Government’s published estimates on out-of-pocket costs for parents, hidden on page 37 of the Regulation Impact Statement, do not give an accurate picture – as they relate primarily to ratios and qualifications.”
“The fact is that under this proposal, every state licensing regulation – including building and play space requirements – could be altered to impose a national standard. This has the potential to cause operating costs to absolutely skyrocket for providers, which in turn will add significantly to the cost to parents.”
Mrs Mirabella said the Rudd Government had failed to explain:
· Exactly what state licensing regulations will be standardised – for example, will providers have to reduce child numbers in order to comply with new space requirements? Will maximum group numbers be imposed, thereby affecting how Centres operate?
· Whether the State Governments will police and administer the new system, or a new national body.
· How the current accreditation process will be streamlined and how standards will be assessed.
· How the childcare industry will be able to retain qualified Early Childhood Teachers in order to meet the requirements, when conditions in the education sector draw qualified people away.
· What timeframe providers will have to comply with the new standards.
· What penalties will apply to providers who do not comply with new standards.
“Having met with representatives from the Department and the Minister’s office, I couldn’t get any answers to these questions. There are many unresolved issues – and a huge number of decisions still to be made by COAG,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“This whole consultation process seems very dishonest. How can providers or parents provide feedback when they aren’t being given the full picture?”
“Even the Access Economic analysis of the RIS seems very vague and uncertain – probably because they too haven’t got the full picture. How can you do accurate modelling when vital questions about how the system will operate remain unanswered?
“Parents and providers much be told how the changes will affect all additional costs.”
“If the Government doesn’t know the answers to the basic questions above, then they need to work harder and get some agreement through COAG, and then present a complete proposal.”
“The Minister’s assertion this week that the Government will foot half the increased costs for parents through the childcare rebate is misleading – the fact is, the rebate is capped so once out-of-pocket expenses reach a certain level then parents will pay 100% of the cost.”
“Any increase in fees at this time when we have rising unemployment and economic uncertainty will be a burden on working families.”
“I am not sure that Minister Kate Ellis appreciates that fact. If she did, she’d be instructing her Department to be upfront with parents and tell them the full picture on how much fees will rise. Only then can they expect honest feedback through the consultation process.”