New childcare collapse demands action
19-November-2008
The Rudd Government must move quickly to reassure Australian parents and childcare industry workers that it has a long-term plan to ensure the future of childcare, following the collapse of CFK Child Care Centres in NSW, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education and Childcare Sophie Mirabella said today.
“The fact is that parents and staff need reassurance now on what the Government’s long-term plan is. They need to see the contingency plan that for months the Minister has been promising so they can go into the new year knowing what their child care options are,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“It is obvious from reports today that the financial situation regarding ABC Learning is both complex and dire. It is totally unrealistic to think that this can be all resolved in 6 weeks.”
“Now we have another child care provider going into receivership – it’s clear that the Government has to come clean and let families know exactly how they intend to deal with this situation beyond December 31.”
Mrs Mirabella said the collapse of CFK, which has been linked to ABC Learning, would create more uncertainty for many NSW families.
“The situation with ABC Learning did not come from out of the blue. There were indications 9 months ago that the company was in serious trouble - they ceased trading on the stock exchange in August but the Government did not set up a Taskforce to look at the situation until 24th September.”
“The Rudd Government has now set a ridiculous timetable of just 6 weeks to sort through the intricate financial details and resolve the future of over 1000 Childcare Centres on a Centre-by-Centre basis. This is no way of dealing with such a complex problem and it may result in a “quick fix” which could do more harm than good and leave thousands of families stranded without child care,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“While the Coalition supports the $22 million funding to keep Centres open and provide security for worried parents – it is essentially a stop–gap measure, it is not a plan.”
“Minister Gillard needs to make good on her promise that the Government has a contingency plan - and now is the time to let concerned Australian parents know exactly what it is.