Govt won't build more childcare centres

Labor's reputation with the "working families" it represents could take a blow,
after it reneged on a promise to build hundreds of new childcare centres.
The federal government on Thursday released two reports on the sector, which was hit
by the collapse of the largest provider, ABC Learning, more than a year ago.
In news that will shock most parents, the data shows there are plenty of vacant
childcare places.
On average, 30 per cent of long day-care places - more than 65,000 - were available
across the country every day in the week ended March 19, 2010.
For families wanting out-of-school care, more than 70,000 places were vacant each
day in the same period, and 6000 places were available in family day care, run by
caregivers in their own homes.
In response, the government has decided to scrap its 2007 election commitment to
build 260 childcare centres at schools.
But it will go ahead with 38 already under construction, costing $114 million.
Child Care Minister Kate Ellis said there was no need for additional centres.
"An injection of more centres could threaten the viability of existing services and
cause disruption for Australian families, just as the market is settling after the
collapse of ABC Learning," she said in a statement.
But Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the government's figures were contrary to all
anecdotal evidence.
"This is a colossal breach of faith with the working families that Mr Rudd spoke of
so often," he told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.
"The government is asking us to believe that it has miraculously solved the
childcare problem by doing virtually nothing.
"Now this is utterly implausible but it is so typical of this government."
Opposition childcare spokeswoman Sharman Stone agreed.
Dr Stone told AAP it would not only hurt families, but the many communities - many
of them small or economically disadvantaged - that applied for a centre.
"These were desperate communities that couldn't afford to build a centre any other
way," she said.
"They needed those centres for their own economies, so they could attract labour
into professions they are begging for."
Family First senator Steve Fielding said he hoped mums and dads would remember the
backflip at the ballot box.
"The Rudd government has got a problem with its ability to deliver real and
effective change to help hard-working families," he said.
Australian Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said it was a broken promise that would
affect family budgets.
"They are clearly not listening to the concerns of parents across Australia," she said.
Meanwhile, the government on Thursday announced a Productivity Commission
investigation into the current and future demand in the early childhood, schooling
and vocational training workforces.
The study will consider factors that impact on each sector's workforce, such as
remuneration, working conditions, retention, training and support, and begin
reporting back in mid-2011.