Hansard: Childcare funding
Author: Mia Davies
Published on: 17-June-2010
HON MIA DAVIES (Agricultural) [5.31 pm]: I rise this evening to put on record my concern about changes in funding for child care, specifically occasional child care. I note in the 2010–11 federal budget funding for the neighbourhood model of occasional care ceased. The federal budget papers state that this measure will produce savings of $12.6 million over four years for the federal government. This move is obviously great from the perspective of some Treasury boffin in Canberra, but it fails to take into account the impact it will have on communities throughout the nation. Obviously I am concerned about communities in the Agricultural Region and throughout the rest of Western Australia. To date I am aware that occasional childcare centres in Boddington, Corrigin, Hyden, Jerramungup, Katanning, Kojonup, Carnamah, Kalbarri, Mukinbudin, Narembeen, Quairading and Wundowie are under threat, and there may be more.
Hon Robyn McSweeney: That’s because of the commonwealth.
Hon MIA DAVIES: Yes, I said that. Absolutely it is by the federal government pulling 50 per cent of the funding.
Hon Sally Talbot: Are you going to ask your leader for some royalties for regions money?
Hon MIA DAVIES: I will get to that. To complicate this matter further, the federal government has tightened its rules for long day care centres, meaning that many regional centres may not be able to meet the rules requiring them to remain open eight hours, five days a week. I have received a number of letters from concerned parents asking whether their day care centre will remain open, whether they will be forced to pay double for their service and whether the service they have been trying to start up will be approved.
I might at this point refer to some of the correspondence that has been sent to me. An email was sent to me from a mother in Binningup who said that she is a user of the Binningup occasional childcare centre that has been affected by the federal funding cuts. She uses the centre for her two children so that she can run her home-based email marketing consultancy. This situation is a real worry for her as there does not seem to be another option available for the care of her children if the Binningup centre closes. The closest other long day care centre is a distance away and does not have available places. Another email from a lady in Katanning stated that her son Zachary attends the Katanning occasional childcare centre and that it has come to everyone’s attention in recent weeks that the federal funding for such centres is to be cut. She said the funding to this centre is vital to community survival. She said that as a single parent she personally cannot afford to place her child in long day care. She said that the government wants parents to return to the workforce and assist our economy in becoming stronger but it then cuts crucial funding that allows them to return to work.
Another email from a lady, again from Katanning, states — I currently have a child attending Katanning Child care centre one day a week which allows him much needed interaction with other children of his age. My husband and I moved to Katanning 2 years ago for employment opportunities. Specialist positions such as my husbands are usually hard to fill in regional areas, however we were happy to make the move knowing that child care was available and I would be able to return to the workforce. Unfortunately if this centre closes my chances of getting in to the long day care centre is slim … and therefore my husband and I will be forced to move in order for me to return to the workforce. Like many young families that move to regional areas for employment opportunities we do not have family and close friends that we can rely on for childcare assistance.
I have a number of other similar emails. The federal government has rationalised the cuts to funding by saying that the current neighbourhood model occasional care funding is not tied to service delivery and that services are not subject to quality control standards or learning outcomes. From the letters that I have received, I do not believe that that is the case. The parents are absolutely delighted with the service that is provided through these childcare centres. They are more than happy with the service. The double whammy is that the commonwealth also appears to be pushing these centres towards becoming long day care centres. As I have explained, a long day care centre must be open for five days a week for a set minimum of hours. In some country towns there is not the demand for the centres to be open for five days a week.
Hon Robyn McSweeney: To get the rebate.
Hon MIA DAVIES: Yes; to get the rebate so that the parents can afford to send their children to those centres. Cunderdin, Darkan and Dalwallinu are classic examples. The federal Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare and Youth has provided those centres with a six-month exemption, which is within her rights as the minister, but has advised them that the condition of having the exemption is that the centres must work towards being open for five days. The centres are very concerned that they will not have the demand to meet that requirement and therefore will be out of pocket and will not be able to continue. Also, every six months they have to go back to the federal government and ask for another exemption. Parents do not know whether or not the service will be available to them, which puts an immense amount of stress on the staff and parents.
It is clear that the federal government does not want these centres to be open on a part-time basis or to have occasional child care. The reality is that the centres would not exist without the exemption. I have visited some of the centres. Many were built by the local community, drawing from shire funds and the donations of parents. Local businesses have contributed man hours to get them up and running and they were built to the many specifications required by the federal government. My understanding from the correspondence between the federal minister and the state government is that the federal government is opposed to granting these exemptions on the following grounds: that moving to grant permanent exemptions when a service cannot or does not intend to meet the normal conditions of approval—this is the opinion of the government—may lead to lower levels of childcare services for Australian families living in regional and remote areas; lower levels of quality and risk of not meeting national standards; increased risk of childcare service failing; increased risk of childcare service not meeting its ongoing obligations; and higher costs to the Australian government.
Hon Robyn McSweeney: I have taken up this issue with Kate Ellis.
Hon MIA DAVIES: I acknowledge that and was getting to that. I know that Minister McSweeney and Hon Brendon Grylls are aware of this matter. They are continuing discussions with the federal government and have been championing this matter with the minister. I urge members opposite to take up this matter with their federal colleagues and with Minister Ellis in particular. We have invited Minister Ellis to visit some of these centres to see the implications that this one-size-fits-all legislation is having. The legislation does not fit regional areas of Western Australia, and the Wheatbelt in particular.
Hon Jim Chown: Have you asked Wilson Tuckey or Barry Haase about any of the options that are available?
Hon MIA DAVIES: They are aware of the issue.
Hon Jim Chown: Have you spoken to them?
Hon MIA DAVIES: They are aware of the issue. They have also taken up the matter. It has been raised at the federal level by a number of different people. My thoughts on the matter are that the minister is mistaken if she believes that this matter will go away. This service is much too important. People want to get back into the workforce and they are being prevented from doing so. As members have heard today, some people are talking about moving out of the towns they are in because they cannot access the service. I will continue to work with Minister McSweeney and I know that Hon Brendon Grylls will do the same. I encourage everyone to bring as much pressure to bear on the federal government as they can to reinstate the funding because it is absolutely vital for regional Western Australians.
Hon Robyn McSweeney: The state government provides half the amount of funding and the federal government, without any warning, said that the other half would stop on 1 July. The Western Australian government will provide full funding until the end of September while I try to negotiate with Kate Ellis and the federal government.
Hon MIA DAVIES: It has been left to the state government to clean up the mess, which is very disappointing.
The PRESIDENT: Order! Hon Mia Davies has only a couple of minutes left and a lot of members seem to be very keen to help her make her speech. She is very capable of doing that herself, I am sure.
Hon MIA DAVIES: I was finished, but I welcome the interjection from the minister because that clarifies the issue from the state perspective. We are getting support from the state; it is not forthcoming from the federal government.
