Commonwealth dealings with WA over child care places unfair

5/8/95

The Commonwealth Government was not being efficient or fair in its dealings with the State over child care places, Family and Children's Services Minister Roger Nicholls said today.

Speaking after he had addressed a conference organised by the Association of Child Care Centres of Western Australia, Mr Nicholls said negotiations about the Commonwealth-State child care agreement had dragged on for an unnecessarily long time.

"The issues are clear enough and it is time for some sensible decisions from Canberra," the Minister said.

"Under the previous agreement (1988), the Commonwealth pays the full operating costs for each place in community-based child care centres ($981) and the State adds another $93 per place.

"Under the 1992 agreement which I am trying to renegotiate, the Commonwealth would continue to pay the full operating cost but the State would be required to add almost $300 extra for each place.

"This would result in the State spending an additional $1,000,000 without getting a single extra child care place and without the centres having to provide any additional service for the extra $10,000 they would each get.

"Instead of this absolute waste, I have offered to provide an additional $5,000,000 capital to build new centres, thereby saving the Commonwealth $5,000,000.

"The problem we are encountering with this proposal is that the State wants to use the money in rural areas where private child care centres are not viable, but the Commonwealth wants to compete with the private sector in the city and larger country centres.

"In those areas, the private sector is out-building the Government by eight centres to one and it can continue to do so without operating subsidies over and above child care payments.

"The need for Government involvement is in rural areas where private centres are not viable but where families still require access to child care facilities.

"I do believe the State Government's proposals are fairer to the industry, fairer to WA families and fairer to both State and Commonwealth taxpayers."

Media contact:  Hugh Ryan 2215468