Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Abbott Liberal government has launched an extraordinary $1 billion attack on Australian families and the productivity of our nation through their savage cuts to early learning and childcare programs. These cuts include:    $450 million from outside school hours care; $157 million from family day care services; support to help parents complete study and return to work; $300 million support for educators' wages; and, now, $230 million from the Child Care Benefit by freezing the income threshold. The government has undertaken no analysis of how this will impact the 3,460 families in Newcastle who receive the Child Care Benefit, who it will affect and by how much.

Families and educators in my electorate are worried that these cuts will have a detrimental impact for generations to come. More than 50 Newcastle family day care users have written to me this week alone, anxious about increasing fees, service closures and their capacity to remain in the workforce. Early childhood education sets our children on the right path for life-long education and development. It also provides an avenue for women to return to work after having children, helping to increase our nation's productivity and boost the local economy. Quality child care needs to be both affordable and accessible and Newcastle families deserve better than what they are getting from this government.

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