Government must act to reassure families on ABC Learning

05-November-2008

The Rudd Government must move quickly to reassure Australian families who rely on ABC Learning, as the Board considers calling in administrators, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education & Childcare Sophie Mirabella said today.

“Reports today that the Board of ABC Learning are considering calling in administrators will be very concerning for the thousands of Australian families who rely on ABC for their childcare. The Government has taken a hands-off approach so far and essentially said they would wait for the company to collapse – now it appears that is about to happen,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“The time has come for the Childcare Parliamentary Secretary Maxine McKew to stop hiding behind Minister Gillard, take a leadership role in her own portfolio, and be upfront with parents and let them know exactly what contingency plans are in place to ensure the Centres remain operational. Parents need that reassurance.”

Mrs Mirabella said the Government had been “eerily quiet” since ABC learning suspended trading on their shares in August, and she hoped the Minister had been on top of the issue.

“The Coalition has been consistently calling on the Government to let Mums and Dads know what they intend to do about 100,000 childcare places that could be lost – but this arrogant Government has refused to respond.”

“Around 25% of all long day care in Australia is conducted through ABC learning and they company receives 44% of its revenue from Federal Government subsidies. Clearly the Government has a strong responsibility to ensure the services offered through ABC Learning continue. ”

Mrs Mirabella said she was also very concerned at reports this morning that ABC Learning has struggled to meet staffing requirements.

“Obviously the uncertainty about the future of ABC Learning is having an impact on the level of service being offered at some Centres. They have apparently had to resort to calling in training staff, area managers and Centre directors to actually care for children. This is a concern and is unsustainable in the long-term.”

“The Rudd Government has a responsibility to outline exactly what it intends to do. If they wait until after administrators are called in we may have a situation where families are left stranded if a financial decision is made to close some Centres.”

“This isn’t about a public company or its financial decisions – it’s about the care of our young children. Ms McKew keeps making grandiose speeches about Labor’s so-called ambitious childcare agenda. This is the real test of their commitment – it’s now crunch time on ABC Learning - and so far we’ve had nothing at all. Australian families deserve much better,” Mrs Mirabella said.