Candidate's Childcare Policy

The Advocate

Braddon Liberal candidate Mal Hingston and Braddon Labor candidate Anne Urquhart discuss and debate their thoughts and party's policies surrounding childcare.

Transcript

00:00On child care, Mel Hingston, would your side deliver more child care in Bratton and if so, how?

00:06So possibly, but when we introduce a new policy like this, I want to be careful that we consider all the unintended consequences.

00:15This is a theme of mine when I think about policies and things that we can change.

00:20It's important that we think through all the unintended consequences.

00:22So for instance, if we do go down the track of having three days a week free child care with no activity tests,

00:31so someone can be sitting at home doing absolutely nothing, not working, and send their children along with child care,

00:37it's good for children, it's good for their early development, but we need to assess the impacts on the industry for that.

00:43So for instance, your paper last week ran a story about a working mother here in Bratton

00:48that had to drop out of work because she couldn't find a child care place.

00:51So if we don't have enough places, don't offer more places up for free.

00:56Okay, thank you.

00:58Some people would argue that child care is even more important for children from, let's say, disadvantaged families

01:06and that some people say that the goal should be universal child care at at least a low cost,

01:13but you're not going there at least.

01:15Well, no, I didn't say that. It's a great goal.

01:17And I did acknowledge that child care is very important for the early development of children.

01:22We just need to make sure that the industry can sustain what we're actually offering the voting public or the public.

01:29And Anna, if it's a question, please.

01:31Yeah, look, child care for me is a no-brainer, obviously,

01:34and we've made announcements around universal child care for people for three days.

01:38Locked in, we've made commitments around building child care centres in regional areas.

01:43A lot of our policies around child care are focused on regional areas because we know there's a shortage of child care places,

01:52but also child care providers and child care early educators.

01:57I've spent a lot of time over the last sort of 12 months or so visiting child care centres right along the coast here,

02:03and I've got to say that, you know, a lot of them have people on the waiting list,

02:09and this is happening all over the country, and that's why we've made the decision to look at, you know,

02:15assisting with those child care areas.

02:18I make no apology whatsoever for having children in child care from an early age.

02:25We know that it sets the ground for early education.

02:27We know that child care is not babysitting.

02:30It is actually early childhood education.

02:33And when you go into a child care centre and you see the children sitting down

02:36and the educators taking them through a whole range of activities,

02:40that is a learning activity for them.

02:42They learn different things in a child care setting.

02:47They also learn to socialise with others.

02:50And I think that is really, really important,

02:51and that's why we've put the policies we have out around child care

02:56to support parents that are working,

03:00but also to support children, irrespective of where they come from

03:04or what their parents do,

03:05to make sure that they can get the best starts in education that they can.

03:09OK, thank you.

03:11Can I have another comment on that?

03:13Yes, go ahead.

03:13So everything Anne said just then is true,

03:16but we just need to make sure that the places are available.

03:18So I know, for instance, at Demport at the moment,

03:20we've got two people that want to build a child care centre

03:22and they're struggling to get it through planning

03:24because of the objections from the public.

03:26So I don't disagree with anything that Anne's saying.

03:29I'm just saying we need to make sure that the industry

03:31can support the placements that we're promising.

03:33OK, thank you.

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