Many parents and industry still left in the dark

05-December-2008

“The statement today by the Receivers of ABC Learning has been welcomed by the Opposition but still leaves many questions unanswered,” Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education and Childcare Sophie Mirabella MP said today.

• Does this mean that some of the 386 centres which are “subject to operational review” will actually close and the children and staff moved to other ABC centres?
   
• The Receiver has stated that it is working with the Government so does it know what Ms Gillard’s ABC Learning contingency plan is despite the public being kept in the dark?
   
• Has ABC Learning’s Receiver been privy to the national childcare vacancy figures which Ms Gillard has been refusing to publicly release?

“The feedback I have been getting is very clear, the industry needs accurate data on demand hotspots or areas of oversupply but obtaining this information from Ms Gillard’s office is impossible,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“The last reporting of national child care vacancies was on 19 April 2007 by former Families Minister Mal Brough and while all Childcare Centres must report their vacancies each week no figures have been released over the past 19 months.”

“The Minister is telling the industry to make ‘expression of interest’ applications on ABC Learning Centres but how on earth can they do this when they do not have the essential information that any business needs to make this type of decision?”

“We have the strange situation, revealed by the Union, where some of the 386 ABC Learning Centres that could possibly close have 100% occupancy rates. Conversely, there are many Council-run Centres that have thousands on their waiting lists while many nearby operators are reporting vacancies.”

“On top of all this, the Government is pledging to build 260 new Child Care Centres around the country but refusing to say on what basis they determine the need to build a particular Centre. The childcare industry needs accurate data so it can confidently plan for the future. ”

“In Opposition, the ALP called on the Government to release this data. I ask the Minister now to reveal the national childcare vacancy figures immediately to assist the childcare industry deal with the ABC Learning collapse,” Mrs Mirabella concluded.