Parra News April 14 2021

Rising child care costs are
hurting working families
Australian families pay some of the highest child care
costs in the world. And the cost of child care keeps
going up.
Since the Liberal Government was elected in 2013, child care
fees have gone up by 35%. According to the Government’s own
estimates, fees will increase on average 4.1% each year for the
next four years.
Over the same period, wage growth has slowed to a crawl, and
wages are only expected to rise 1% this year.
This means child care is increasingly unaffordable for working
families in Parramatta – one local mum told me recently that her
child care fees were higher than her mortgage repayments!
In many cases, parents who want to work full time are forced to
work part time because the cost of child care would see them
actually lose money for working extra days.
This isn’t just hurting local families – it’s hurting the economy.
Research from the Grattan Institute and KPMG has highlighted
the ways our child care system dampens productivity, and the
Government’s own Budget papers point to the drag on the
economy caused by lower workforce participation rates and a
declining population.
But there’s a silver lining in all of this. If we fix our broken child
care system, we can boost our economic recovery so everyone
benefits – whether they use child care or not.
Labor has a plan to make child care more affordable by
scrapping the annual cap on the child care subsidy, which often
sees parents – usually mothers – lose money if they take on
extra days at work.
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Julie Owens Bulletin
We also plan to lift the maximum child care subsidy
rate to 90% and increase child care subsidy rates for
every family with a combined household income less
than $530,000.
Under a Labor Government, 97% of families with
children in child care will be better off. Research from KPMG and
the Grattan Institute estimates that similar reforms could generate
GDP growth of between $4 billion and $11 billion every year.
Parramatta parents should be free to choose between staying
home and quality child care – not penalised by higher child care
fees when they take on extra hours or days at work.
Nationally, more than 100,000 families are locked out of our
child care system because they simply can’t afford it. Our policy
will open the door to child care for these families and make it
more affordable for virtually all families with children in child
care now.
If you’ve got children in child care – or you’ve been locked out
by rising fees – scan the QR code to find out how much you
could save under this policy.
And if child care reform matters to you, or you need help
navigating the complex child care system, please get in touch
with my office. The Government has been silent on this issue,
despite predicting a rapid rise in child care costs – so it’s critical
that voices in our community are heard.
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parra news » Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Julie Owens MP FEDERAL MEMBER FOR PARRAMATTA
If I can be of any help please phone me on 9689 1455 or write to 1/25 Smith St, Parramatta NSW 2150
or email julie.owens.mp@aph.gov.au julie.owens.mp www.julieowens.com.au
Authorised by Julie Owens MP, Australian Labor Party, 1/25 Smith Street, Parramatta.
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