7. MOANA MACKEY (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Education
What is the Government doing to ensure New Zealand children get the best educational start possible?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Education) Link to this
This Government is giving every New Zealand child a good start in life, through quality early childhood education and by lowering the costs to parents. The Government recently announced in the Budget a further investment of $162 million over 4 years, and that will help us to implement up to 20 hours per week of free early childhood education for 3 to 4-year-olds in teacher-led services, benefiting around 92,000 children in the first year. We have increased the funding rates for providers by $30 million, and boosting playcentres by an additional $4 million will of course ease the pressure on them. Of course, I acknowledge the outstanding work of my predecessor in helping to develop those policies.
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
I have seen information from the New Zealand Childcare Association, stating that the average cost of childcare in New Zealand is around $40 per day, which of course will go down further with Working for Families and the introduction of free early childhood education. I have also seen a newspaper article from Australia, showing the average cost of childcare is higher than that. The Sydney Morning Herald found childcare centres charging $90 a day, and one, in a place called Bondi Beach, is planning to charge over $100 a day. That is just one of the many costs that families would face if they took the advice of “Digger” Don Brash and went to Australia.
Madam SPEAKER
Hon Brian Donnelly Link to this
Will the Minister consider removing some of the restrictions around the Government funding of early childhood education—for example, by not limiting it to 6 hours on any one day—so that the availability of quality childcare better reflects the actual working times of parents than it currently does?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
Yes, I will. But along with the early childhood sector, we prefer at the moment to use the current funding formula, which has the 6-hour cap. We all believe that once we have had some experience with 20 hours of free education, we will have an opportunity to see whether we ought to move to the suggestion of the member or stay with the current system.
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
As the parent of a preschooler in Australia, someone may face a personal tax rate of 45 percent, a Medicare levy of 1.5 percent, and an accident compensation levy of 2.47 percent on top of his or her childcare costs. In New Zealand one would pay less tax overall, according to the OECD, pay an accident compensation levy of less than 1 percent, be eligible for paid parental leave of 14 weeks, get tax relief through the Working for Families package, be eligible for childcare subsidies, get childcare costs reduced, and see free early childhood education be introduced in 2007. Those figures once again show how misleading the National Party has been in its drive to ask New Zealanders to go to Australia.