Federal Member for Blair, Shayne Neumann, has pointed to the latest quarterly data on child care fees as evidence Blair families are paying too much.

The data shows fees in Blair increased by 8 per cent over 12 months to December 2019, well above the national increase of 4.6 per cent.

Mr Neumann said these are the high fees the Morrison Government has chosen to lump local families with again, by snapping back to their old child care system with no extra support to bring down out of pocket costs.

“This data shows that before the pandemic, out of pocket child care costs were taking a huge chunk out of household budgets.

Now in the middle of a recession, when families are struggling to get by, these fees will be out of reach for many,” said Mr Neumann.

Mr Neumann also said families who have taken a pay cut over the past few months could be forced to give up child care, and in turn parents will be forced to give up work.

“If families are forced to withdraw their children from early learning, it is worst case scenario for everyone.

“Parents will have to turn down work, children will miss out on early education, and providers will suffer from a drop in demand.”

 
“The Morrison Government must early education is affordable, accessible and high quality for families in our community,” said Mr Neumann.

DATE: WEDNESDAY 22 JULY 2020

MEDIA CONTACT: DAN CRANITCH 0431 851 498