6 May 1999

Child Care campaign

AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE, QUALITY CHILD CARE UNDER THREAT

The availability of affordable, accessible, quality child care is a major determinant of workforce participation for women. Indeed, the objective of the Commonwealth Government’s Children’s Services Program (as stated in the 1993-94 Program Performance Statement of the Department of Human Services and Health) is:

To assist families with dependent children to participate in the workforce and general community, by ensuring that child care is affordable for low and middle income families and by improving the supply and quality of child care. (1994:xvii)

Reasons to support the provision of affordable, accessible, quality child care are many and varied and have been known for some time. These include:

• assisting women to exercise their right to work;
• providing real choices for women workers about when and how they return to work
• following the birth of children;
• assisting women to make the best use of their education and skills;
• improving recruitment and retention of skilled women workers;
• increasing the Commonwealth’s revenue from tax; and
• decreasing the Commonwealth’s expenditure on pensions and benefits.

Many of our members are currently utilising formal child care services or have done so in the past. Many other members are currently denied such formal child care because services available (with a few notable exceptions) do not meet the needs of shift workers. This area of ‘service gap’ in available child care has been an area that the Queensland Nurses’ Union (QNU) has been particularly targeting over the last 10 years. In the last few years there appeared to have been significant movement in this area when the previous state government had agreed to consider the inclusion of child care as part of the Queensland Health capital works agenda.

Significant recent policy and funding changes have meant that our current child care system, along with any extension of current child care services that would meet the particular needs of shift workers, are now under threat. (QNU members were informed of the nature of the changes the Howard government is making in an article on child care in the January/February 1997 edition of the Queensland Nurse).

The QNU is extremely concerned about these recent developments given the potential adverse effects on our members. The Union has joined a very broad coalition of child care providers, educators, women’s groups, business representatives, community groups and Unions to fight these changes. This Coalition, the Queensland Child Care Coalition, is part of a national coalition of organisations and individuals concerned about these changes.

In the 1996 Federal budget, the Howard government announced significant changes to child care which would affect many working families. $150 million was cut from the child care budget.

Changes announced during the last year include:

• The abolition of subsidies to about 1200 non-profit long day care centres affecting about 80 000 families nationally. Some Centres are closing as a result, while the majority will have to increase fees and/or cut costs. 
• The eligibility for the Child Care Assistance payment for low income families has been tightened, which will mean increases in costs for thousands of families.
• The level of assistance for child care costs for all families have been frozen, so that fee increases will have to be paid solely by parents.
• Families with a combined income exceeding $70 000 per year (plus $3 000 for each additional child) will have their Child Care Cash Rebate reduced from 30% to 20% - meaning increased costs.
• The government has abolished funding for 5 500 new child care places, leaving future child care provision to the market place.

This last point is of particular significance to members employed by Queensland Health as this affects child care centres planned for that department.

As stated above, the previous State Labor government’s policy was to consider the inclusion of child care in all new capital works and refurbishments in the Queensland Health capital works agenda. Feasibility studies have already been undertaken at a number of sites, including the Cairns Base Hospital and the Royal Brisbane Hospital campus.

In September 1996, the QNU contacted Queensland Health to express concern about rumours that the child care centre recommended for Cairns Base Hospital was under threat. We were advised by the Deputy Director of Queensland Health, Mr Ross Pitt, in his response dated 14 November 1996, that the feasibility study had been "based on the assumption that the facility would receive loan funds, interest free, from the Commonwealth of $300 000 and a capital contribution from other government sources of $500 000….Queensland Health has been advised by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services that funding assistance for the construction of community and employer sponsored child care centres will no longer be available. The lack of ‘free’ and ‘interest free’ funding impacts significantly on the viability of the proposed child care centre at Cairns."

The Deputy Director General concluded his letter with the suggestion that expressions of interest be sought from the private sector for the provision of child care services for hospital staff.

The QNU fears this lack of availability of funding for employer sponsored child care is going to significantly affect all plans for work based child care at Queensland Health facilities. Members would be only too aware that the QNU has lobbied for such services that cater for the needs of shift workers for many years now. The Union is extremely concerned that we have come so close to this becoming a reality and, because of changes of government at both the federal and state levels, this is now under threat. We have written to the Queensland Minister for Health, Mr Mike Horan, seeking clarification of State Coalition policy on this issue and are awaiting a response.

The QNU is extremely concerned that the changes noted above have resulted in

• increased fees and therefore increased costs for working families;
• a decrease in workforce participation rates for women. In March 1997, 50 100 women left the workforce or stopped looking for work. This is the worst fall in the participation rate of women in the workforce since September 1979;
• Reduced quality of care in some settings;
• A shift from formal child care to informal home-based settings; and
• job losses in long day care services.

Australian workers are already feeling the impact of these changes - and even more changes are planned.

Changes announced in the 1997 Federal Budget include:

 the removal of operational subsidies for services providing Outside School Hours Care from 1 January 1998;
 the introduction of new income-tested child care assistance for school-aged children from 1 January 1998;
 From 1 January 1998, a 20 hour per week limit on access to child care assistance will be introduced for each child in care for non-work-related purposes. (This limit will apply to all long day care and school-aged services);
 A limit on the number of private sector growth to 7 000 new places for each of the two years, 1998 and 1999. This limit will be accompanied by an increase in the supply of Family day Care places by 2 500 places over four years;
 Changing the payment of child care assistance from fortnightly in advance payment to payment in arrears from 1 January 1999.
 The ‘refocusing’ of other family and children’s programs to meet priorities (eg. Tightening of hardship provisions and eligibility for the Family Payment and Maternity Allowance.)

Over the next four years, approximately $350 million in funding has been removed from child care, while new initiatives in this area are expected to cost approximately $44.5 million.

Australian workers must take a stand about changes to child care. The Federal and State governments must be convinced that it is essential to maintain and extend quality, affordable and accessible child care. This is an issue of critical importance to Australian families and society as a whole.

The QNU strongly urges members to commence intensive lobbying of their Federal members of Parliament. (To assist members with this task we have included contact details for all Queensland Members of the House of Representatives and Senators, addresses and telephone numbers for Parliament House in Canberra and details of Parliamentary sitting times for the rest of the year.)

The Federal Coalition government has established a committee on Family and Community Affairs. Five members of this committee are backbenchers from Queensland - De-anne Kelly (Member for Dawson), Kay Elson (Member for Forde), Elizabeth Grace (Member for Lilley), Andrea West (Member for Bowman), and the Chairperson of the Committee Peter Slipper (Member for Fisher). If any of these politicians are your local members then we strongly urge you to contact them. If they are not your representative then write to them or phone them in their capacity as members of this committee.

The QNU has written to the Federal Minister for Health Dr Michael Wooldridge, the Minister for Family Services, Mrs Judi Moylan and the Queensland Minister for Health, Mr Mike Horan to express our concerns. We are also represented on the Steering Committee of the Queensland Child Care Coalition which is aiming to coordinate activities around this vital issue. We will keep members informed of the progress of the campaign via our various publications.

However, it is a fact that this battle will be won by individuals acting in a collective manner. Politicians pay much more attention to individual constituents’ representations - after all they are elected by the people to represent them.

The role individual members and QNU Branches can play in this campaign is crucial. The aim of this lobbying kit is to assist you to take action.

We recommend that members take the following action:

 Raise the issue at our local QNU Branch meetings, in your workplace, with friends who utilise child care and at your child care centre - organise a local campaign to lobby your member of Parliament and Senators. Plan what you are going to do and arrange a roster for activities so that momentum is maintained and work is evenly shared.
 Arrange for delegations or individuals to visit the office of your local Federal member. Consider taking your child/children along to the meeting. Explain to your member from your own experience the effect this is having on you and your family. Ensure that you ask your local member to take action and request that they provide written confirmation of the action they are going to take. Advise them that you will continue to be in touch and that you require feedback from them.
 Follow up your visit with a letter to the member reminding them of what has been discussed and the undertakings they have given. Keep letters simple and from the Heart (letters from individuals are far more effective than petitions or form letters. See the next page for suggested letter formats.)
 Continue to lobby them when they are absent from home base - that is phone, write or fax them when Parliament is sitting. This will ensure they don’t forget about what is happening in the ‘real world’ and importantly the undertakings they have previously given you. (Consider enclosing drawings children have done of their child care centre with this correspondence to Parliament House.)
 Be persistent and keep the pressure on - whether they are at their office or at Parliament House, politicians can not be allowed to forget the importance of this issue.

Keep the QNU informed of progress made in your campaigning. Let your local organiser know if you are seeing your local member, what their response was, and send us copies of any responses from politicians. We will feed information into the Child Care Coalition so that we can better judge the impact our lobbying efforts are having.

Arrange for your QNU representative on local union/management consultative forums to place the issue of child care on the forum agenda (and keep it there). Ask your employer to write a letter of concern about the changes (and likely effects on staff recruitment and retention) to the local Federal member or Ministers Wooldridge or Moylan. (Please send the QNU a copy of any letters of this nautre!).

Attend rallies, pickets and other events organised to protest against child care changes.

This campaign to maintain and extend affordable, quality child care will have to be a long-term one. The Federal Government has staggered the introduction of changes to child care in such a way that the changes are incremental, and because of the passage of time, the public may not make the link between increases in fees (or decreased quality of care) and the definite policy changes the government has made. We must continue to remind our politicians that we hold them responsible for outcomes in this important area of public policy.

TIPS FOR LETTER WRITING

Keep your letter brief and to the point. Start by introducing yourself (eg. "I am a registered nurse employed part/full time at the XYZ Hospital".)

Remind them you are a voter and that you are concerned (eg. "I am a voter in your electorate and I am extremely concerned about recent changes to the child care policy and funding framework in this country.")

Remind them about broken promises (eg. If you are writing to a Coalition member "before the last election, Mr Howard promised that ‘no Australian would be worse off’ under your government. He also promised ‘the retention of the non-means tested Child Care Cash Rebate and the system of Child Care Assistance.’)

Advise them how you have been affected (eg "since your government introduced changes to child care the cost to my family has increased by $x per week.")

Ask they ensure that a quality, affordable and accessible child care system is maintained and extended in Australia

Ask them to respond to your concerns

If you are writing to a Democrat, ALP or Independent Senator ask them to ensure their party does not vote to make further cuts to the child care budget. Remind them of the important role they play in this regard. Remember some Queensland Senators, notably Democrats Kernot and Woodley and Independent Colston hold key positions of power in the Senate so should be particularly targeted for lobbying.

SUGGESTED FORMAT FOR LETTER #1

Mrs Andrea West MP
Member for Bowman
PO Box 1096
CAPALABA QLD 4157

Dear Mrs West,

Thank you for meeting with me on X May to discuss my serious concerns about recent changes to our child care system.

At this meeting you agreed that you would…. (state what the member said they would do on your behalf).

At our meeting I requested that you advise me of the outcome of your actions.

As you were advised at our meeting, child care is of vital importance to our family. I will continue to take action to ensure that our quality affordable child care system is maintained.

I eagerly await further contact from you with regards to this matter.

Thank you again for taking the time to meet with me.

Yours sincerely

SUGGESTED FORMAT FOR LETTER #2

Mrs Andrea West MP
Member for Bowman
PO Box 1096
CAPALABA QLD 4157

Dear Mrs West,

I am a registered nurse of x years experience employed part time (x hours per week) at the XYZ Hospital.

I am one of your constituents and wish to advise you that I am extremely concerned about recent changes the federal government has made in the area of child care.

Before the last election Mr Howard promised that "no Australian would be worse off" under your government. He also promised "the retention of the non-means tested Child Care Cash Rebate and the system of Child Care Assistance."

Unfortunately our family is now considerably worse off due to the changes that your government has made. I have X children at the ABC Child Care Centre and child care fees there have increased by $s per child per week.

I enjoy my job and do not want to be forced to give it up because of child care costs that I cannot afford to pay. Neither my employer nor I want to see my considerable nursing expertise lost from the health system. Access to quality, affordable child care is a necessity for my family. Indeed, access to child care for shift workers needs to be vastly improved not cut back!

I request that you take immediate action to ensure that your government continues to invest in our children’s future by maintaining our quality, affordable child care system.

Could you please advise me of what action you intend to take on my behalf with respect to this matter of national importance.

I eagerly await your response.

Yours Sincerely

SUGGESTED FORMAT FOR LETTER #3

The Leader of the Democrats

Dear Senator,

As leader of the Australian Democrats in the Senate it is likely that your party will be asked by the government to vote to make further cuts to the Child Care Budget.

I am a registered nurse and my continued employment is dependent upon access to affordable, quality child care. Many of my work colleagues are effectively denied access to such care for their children because the current child care system does not properly cater for the child care needs of shift workers. If anything, spending on child care must be increased to address these gaps in the current system rather than cut back in the manner propsoed by the government. A principal determinant of recruitment and retention of experienced nurses is access to affordable quality child care. This is a point that has apparently been missed by the federal government.

This issue is of critical importance to all Australian workers, but particularly to women workers.

I request that your party opposes any further changes to the child care funding and policy framework that will destroy our great child care system.

I would appreciate if you could advise me of what action you intend to take with respect to this matter. I eagerly await your repsonse.

Yours Sincerely.