I'm a working mum. Here's why I oppose Labor's universal childcare
Like every other parent I know right now, one of the biggest expenses in my budget is childcare. Of course, I greatly value it because it allows my partner and I to work, and offers amazing benefits for my child. But seeing how much we fork out on this service every week makes my stomach drop.
Since 2006, the cost of childcare has risen across Australia by 48 per cent for couples and 76 per cent for single parents. In Victoria alone, the current average fee for childcare is $145 a day before subsidies. So it's hardly surprising that for years now, people have been desperately calling for more to be done.
And when you combine those numbers with the facts that I'm both a working mum myself and passionate about making women's return to work easier, you might think I'd be all for the government's plan to introduce universal childcare. But you know what? I'm actually not.
There are a few reasons for this, and the first one is simple: the government's plan ignores expert advice, something I'm a big fan of. When the Productivity Commission looked into the government's proposed model - which would see childcare fees cost no more than between $10 and $20 a day for all Australian families - they found it would cost taxpayers an extra $8.3 billion each year, taking the annual total cost of childcare to $21 billion.
They also found it would increase demand, potentially reduce the quality of care, cost taxpayers much more than the commission's suggested model, and would not be equitable.
Their report to the government spelt this out plainly, stating: 'A disproportionate share of the increased government support would go to the families whose incomes are in the top 25 per cent of income distribution.' In other words, those who need the least help stand to gain the most.
Surely the goal should be to have a policy that is universally beneficial, not just universal in name.
So what was the alternative proposal? The commission suggested maintaining the existing system but changing the eligibility criteria, so that families earning less than $80,000 with one child and families earning up to $140,000 with multiple children in childcare can receive three free days of care each week for 48 weeks per year.
They also recommended removing the subsidy for families with a combined income of $580,000 or more. This model would cost an additional $4.7 billion annually – $3.6 billion less than the government's plan.
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