Family day care services in Greenway are being forced to close their doors or raise fees because of heartless budget cuts by the Abbott Government.
Family day care is an approved form of childcare provided in the home of the family day care educator. Due to the need for flexible and easily accessible child care, family day care is the fastest growing form of early childhood education and care with 736 family day care facilities nationwide.
Member for Greenway, Michelle Rowland has said that it has now been revealed that ten family day care facilities in the Blacktown area will have their funding ripped away in 2015.
“These cruel cuts will see services close and fees increase at a time when families are already bearing the brunt of Tony Abbott’s unfair budget,” Ms Rowland said.
On the eve of the 2013 election, Tony Abbott promised ‘no cuts to education’, but has now reneged on that promise, cutting $1 billion from early childhood services, including $157 million from family day care nationwide.
“Families in Greenway cannot afford to keep paying for Abbott’s lies,” Ms Rowland said.
Family Day Care Australia says that cuts to funding would result in fee increases of around $35 per week.
“At a time where the demand for childcare is extremely high with waitlists often exceeding a year, Tony Abbott is now cutting funding from over 80 per cent of family day care facilities.”
Ms Rowland last week visited a family day care facility at Kellyville Ridge with Shadow Assistant Minister for Education Amanda Rishworth to discuss the cuts to funding with a family day care educator.
“Greenway is one of the youngest electorates in Australia. If local family day care providers such as Sweet Angels Family Day Care at Kellyville Ridge are forced to close, many families in Greenway will no longer have access to affordable, flexible, quality day care,” Ms Rowland said.
“Family day care, like the service provided by the Sweet Angels Family Day Care at Kellyville Ridge is a highly popular childcare option as it provides the accessibility and flexibility that many commercial childcare centres don’t.”
Ms Rowland said that she and the rest of the Labor party will stand up for families and fight Tony Abbott’s cruel cuts.
Ms Rowland has also launched a petition against Tony Abbott’s cruel cuts and urges all members of the community to sign it: https://michellerowlandmp.wufoo.eu/forms/save-family-day-care/
FRIDAY, 15 AUGUST 2014
