Minister meets with Bundaberg child care providers

Federal Member for Hinkler, Paul Neville today brought Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Larry Anthony, to Bundaberg to meet with local child care providers.

“I am here at the invitation of Paul Neville who is a very forceful advocate for local families. It is important for me to meet with the people who provide these valuable services and hear first hand about their experiences and concerns,” Mr Anthony said.

“With the changing nature of work and family life, the need for flexible child care has increased. Child care services in Bundaberg are helping meet the individual needs of families,” Mr Neville said.

“The Howard/Anderson Government is committed to providing flexible, innovative child care. Multi-purpose centres, in-home care, mobile and on-farm care give families more options when considering their work and family commitments,” he said.

Mr Anthony said that unprecedented levels of funding has been invested to make child care more affordable through the Child Care Benefit. We have spent $6 billion in the last four years and have committed around $8 billion for the next four years.

“This increased funding is giving parents more assistance than ever before to subsidise their child care costs. It has been responsible for 720,000 children – a record number – using Commonwealth approved child care.

“It has also been responsible for the number of services increasing by 2,000 and 190,000 more child care places.

“Paul Neville is a strong advocate for Bundaberg families ensuring quality child care and first-rate facilities,” Mr Anthony said.

Families requiring more information on child care can phone the Department of Family and Community Services’ Child Care Access Hotline on 1800 670 305.