Labor will today launch a new national campaign against the Abbott Government’s cuts to child care assistance, writing directly to more than 14,000 child care centres and services to urge them to speak up and stop these cruel cuts.
The Abbott Government has introduced legislation with the sole purpose of cutting the Child Care Benefit, which more than 80 per cent of Australian families who use child care rely on. The Education Department estimates this will leave more than 500,000 families worse off.
This will hit families earning as little as $42,000 a year. Early Childhood Australia modelling suggests some of the lowest income families will have to pay between $3,000 and $5,000 extra because of these cuts.
This is unprecedented – no previous Government has ever moved to cut the Child Care Benefit.
These cruel and unfair cuts will hurt families who can least afford it.
These child care cuts are imminent but not unstoppable. Every family, every child care provider, every educator, everyone who cares about decent access to affordable child care has the chance to make their voice heard.
What sort of government will make families on low and middle incomes pay up to $5,000 a year extra for child care – at the same time as giving $50,000 to wealthy families to have a baby?
These latest cuts will mean over $1 billion in child care support has been cut by this government since it came to office – including cuts to outside school hours care, family day care, the Child Care Rebate, the Child Care Benefit, Indigenous child and family centres, qualifications and professional development support for educators among other cuts.
This is another attack on the most vulnerable in our community who are already feeling the pain of Tony Abbott’s cruel budget through the new petrol tax, cuts to family assistance and the GP tax.
A single income family with two children earning $65,000 a year will be more than $6,000 a year worse off because of Tony Abbott’s unfair budget.
To take a stand against Tony Abbott’s cuts to child care, sign the petition here:
www.alp.org.au/targetedchildcarecuts
MONDAY, 30 JUNE 2014
MEDIA CONTACT: LEADER’S OFFICE MEDIA UNIT 02 6277 4053
HANNAH MACLEOD 0437 526 210 (ELLIS)
