As a father of two small children who attend Occasional Child Care I asked myself this question recently in relation to the abolition of state funding for the Take a Break service that provides a few crucial hours of child care a week.
State Member for Northern Victoria and Victorian Minister for Early Childhood Development, Wendy Lovell refuses to find the $1.9 million needed to fund the program.
Rather than acknowledge this program is worth fighting for Minister Lovell has simply pointed to the withdrawal of Federal funding, a convenient argument, however one which is wearing thin as centres close or raise fees to cover the loss of the funds.
Other state governments of both political persuasions have decided Occasional Child Care is too important not to continue and have stepped in with their own funding.
Some $1.9 million provides child care for over 9000 children across Victoria, and in our case, with no local family support or alternative child care services nearby, is so appreciated and vital.
Isn't it time Minister Lovell came out and communicated some really legitimate reasons why the State government won’t fund the program as the current state-federal standoff smacks of political opportunism. We need a minister who is a passionate advocate of early childhood development, someone who won’t let Take a Break go, not someone who gives up too easily and hides behind a convenient "get out” clause.
Charles Leone from Moorilim
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