Child Care News
Childcare, education first in household Budget
The Advertiser - Katrina Stokes - May 6, 2012SONIA Venour wants the Federal Budget to deliver on childcare reforms and help families cope with the general cost of living. The 38-year-old Walkley Heights mother of three is a part-time teacher but cannot work full-time because she looks after Elyse, 8, Nathan, 6, and Kaelan, 3...
Childcare costs put off plans for more
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - May 5, 2012The number of parents who say they will delay having more children because of the increased cost of long-day childcare has doubled to 70 per cent in just two years, according to the latest survey of parents with children in formalised care. Two years ago only 35 per cent said they would delay having more children…
Risk of bad behaviour in preschoolers linked to bikes
Herald Sun - Susie O'Brien - May 4, 2012A Monash University survey of almost 5000 Australian four and five-year-olds linked preschool bike-riding to problems such as temper tantrums, disobedience, bullying and arguing with adults. Children who spend more time alone with adults, and less time playing with peers under supervision, are also more commonly found to have behavioural issues...
Plan puts welfare before work, claims Coalition
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - May 4, 2012THE Coalition has accused the Gillard government of favouring welfare recipients over struggling workers after The Australian revealed a budget plan to extend free childcare for those on payments. But the childcare lobby has welcomed the plan, arguing that in many cases formal care gives children the first clean nappy and meal of the day...
The sound of breaking glass
Sydney Morning Herald - Bridie Smith - May 4, 2012If workplaces can provide or subsidise childcare and offer family-friendly environments, women are more likely to continue working during their child-rearing years - which in turn will mean a deeper pool of senior researchers applying for grants...
Disabled scheme to anchor welfare budget
SkyNews - Thursday May 3, 2012In the lead-up to the May 8 budget, Childcare Minister Kate Ellis has so far declined to rule out a means test on the 50 per cent childcare rebate, which is capped at $7500. While the idea is not new - the government hosed down the proposal before last year's budget - it could create a voter backlash...
Budget boost to save kids from drugs
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - May 3, 2012MORE parents on welfare will get childcare almost free if they sign up for training or look for work, under a bold expansion of a program in Tuesday's federal budget. But those who receive the free childcare will face tougher tests that they are genuinely looking for work, to ensure the program...
Abbott's fly-in nanny pledge
The West Australian - Daniel Emerson - May 2, 2012Families of fly-in, fly-out workers told Opposition Leader Tony Abbott at a morning tea in Rockingham yesterday they needed more flexible child care. On his second day in the Federal electorate of Brand, Mr Abbott repeated his pledge that a coalition government would direct the Productivity Commission ...
Plea for focus on Australia''s most vulnerable children with national deputy commissioner
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - April 30, 2012Secretariat of National Aboriginal & Islander Child Care Chairwoman Dawn Wallam said the government must go one crucial step further and create a national deputy children''s commissioner with a specific focus on Aboriginal children and young people - the most vulnerable and...
Children abused at daycare centres and neglected at home
The Sunday Mail (Qld) - Thomas Chamberlin, Jackie Sinnerton - April 29, 2012PEOPLE working with children are being banned every two-and-a-half days in Queensland for serious offences including child sex, violent and drug-related crimes. The hundreds of Queenslanders caught through stringent daily checks had been granted blue cards...
Middle-class welfare? Give single-income families a tax break
The Australian - Angela Shanahan - April 28, 2012Few women work full time when their children are young. That is not because they cannot find care; it is because they don't want to. In Australia, most institutional childcare is subsidised by the state. Before and after-school care is subsidised, as is care for infants, through the tax rebate and…
AFL players and fans push for childcare at the footy
Herald Sun - Susie O'Brien - April 28, 2012AFL players and footy fans have called for childcare centres at the MCG and Etihad Stadium to make games more family-friendly. Hawk Sam Mitchell, a father of three, said a creche at major stadiums would "help families get to go to the footy together". "Having on-site childcare could…
Cost of childcare soars by 13pc in Adelaide
The Advertiser - Catherine Hockley and Martina Simos - April 27, 2012ADELAIDE families already battling rising energy and water bills have been hit with a 13 per cent jump in childcare fees over the past year. New Consumer Price Index data shows the cost of childcare in Adelaide jumped by 13.6 per cent over the past 12 months - the highest rise of all…
Minister dismisses cost claim as 'utter rubbish'
The Australian - Michael Owen - April 26, 2012CHILDCARE Minister Kate Ellis has accused a national lobby group for the professional carers of children of spreading "utter rubbish and misinformation" about the reasons for a spike in costs. Ms Ellis yesterday said she was outraged by claims made by Child Care National Association...
Timing proves key on childcare rebate
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - April 25, 2012MORE than a quarter of families have chosen to receive a rebate on their childcare fortnightly since the option was introduced in July last year, following a pledge by the Gillard government to ease the cost-of-living pressures for families with young children. New fortnightly payments...
