Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

I have a couple of questions. In the context of these reforms, the sustainability of childcare centres, and the sustainability of families' payments towards fees, I note that childcare providers currently have been told to stand down staff to save money and that, while the government has given permission to centres to waive gap fees, in many cases childcare centres have not been able to afford to do that, because they know that they need to hang on to their staff, and they can't afford to do that in any case. I ask the government: why have you ignored pleas for support from childcare centres and, indeed, the pleas of families for respite from gap fees being charged?