Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that the Senate passage of the Government's 'Cheaper Child Care' bill, while representing a step forward for affordability, falls far short of the substantial changes needed to deliver universal, high-quality early education and care.
Senator Faruqi said:
"Modest improvements to affordability will not solve the crisis in early education and care.
"The Greens proposed numerous constructive amendments that would have improved this bill.
"The Government had an opportunity to scrap the activity test for early learning, which restricts access for thousands of disadvantaged families. It's a huge shame they didn't take it up.
"Now, the Government has to throw everything they have at addressing the workforce crisis in early education and care, and swiftly moving towards a system that is universal and fee-free. This is urgent."
