Page 98 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 25 February 2014
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The government’s investment has helped education and care, almost seeing a doubling, as I have said. There were 335 services providing education and care, as I said, to close on 20,000 children in the ACT, the vast majority supporting workforce participation.
It was with interest that I heard the Canberra Liberals espouse women’s participation in the workforce. It is worth noting that the then shadow minister for women, Mrs Dunne herself, said this:
... often women have somewhat of a luxury about whether they are in the workforce or not—a luxury that often does not accrue in the same way to men ... And it is often the case, especially in a town like Canberra where perhaps people are not quite so dependent upon a second income, that women, especially in their middle years and later years, are more inclined to move in and out of the workforce as it suits them ...
That is the view of the Canberra Liberals on women and workforce participation. They come here claiming that our community providers are overcharging families, claiming that this government has not been responding to and supporting Canberra families. I reiterate that from 2011, under my watch, long day care places alone increased by 2,068 places, with 600 more in line. What have the Canberra Liberals got on offer? As usual, it is absolutely a policy-free zone.
Construction on new learning centres in Holder is nearing completion. The directorate officers took a tour of the facility just this morning. This centre will provide an additional 120 places to support Canberra families in Weston Creek and the Molonglo area. It has been built to exceptional quality standards and provides a great environment to support those early learning years.
We have also commissioned a feasibility study into the Civic childhood centre. Demand for places around the city is high, as many parents want to choose their place to work in the city and want child care close to them. The number of family day services has doubled. This means that an unlimited number of family day care educators can be engaged or employed to deliver quality education for the children of Canberra families.
I am aware of a number of private and community providers coming in to establish over the next two years in Gungahlin, Crace, Holt, Amaroo, Casey, Oxley and Macarthur, with land released to support private providers coming in and establishing here in Canberra for families. We have made significant investments in children’s services, which is the right thing to do. Again, the Canberra Liberals have not provided any sensible way forward as to what else we can do to provide additional support to Canberra families.
We consider affordability and availability as vital. It is time, in turn, to consider the quality of services and educators that we trust in the day-to-day care of our children. That is why we signed up to the national quality framework. But there is the workforce, in addition to the bricks and mortar, in relation to increasing substantial places—2,000 just in 2011. There is the work we do to support the workforce in
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