"Snapping back" to the old child care system will be disastrous
Comments from the Prime Minister over the weekend indicating the government intends to wind back free childcare on the 28th of June have sparked grave concerns for parents and the sector.
Now, not-for-profit organisation The Parenthood is calling for the government to extend free childcare beyond June 28, enabling early childhood education and care centres to continue and ensure kids can access the education and care they need and help families adjust to the “new normal”.
Georgie Dent is a board member of The Parenthood, and she has written today for online news organisation Women’s Agenda about the critical necessity of this campaign, countering the Prime Minister’s comments that free childcare is not sustainable by claiming that “pulling the rug out from under families and the sector three months ahead of schedule and ‘snapping back’ to the old system is not sustainable either.”
Dent writes that: Halting free childcare while Australia’s economy is still in a state of shock will be disastrous. This is the time to make the system stronger so parents and children can continue to access the vital service, and centres can continue to function.
Back in April the Prime Minister himself said this. ‘This virus is going to take enough from Australians without putting Australian parents in that position of having to choose between the economic wellbeing of their family or the care and support and education of their children.’
Putting parents in that position is every bit as unacceptable now as it was in April.”
The Parenthood’s campaign includes a petition for concerned individuals to add their name in calling on the government to urgently put a stop to the plans. They write that: “we have a chance, in the next few weeks, to make the system strong enough that it can support all of us – we should act on it urgently and strive for something better.”
If you would like to add your name to a petition calling on the government to extend free childcare for at least three months, click here.