The Greens have today welcomed a call from former Labor Premier, Jay Weatherill, for a rethink of how childcare is run, which aligns with Greens calls for free childcare run on a not-for-profit basis.
While saying that his ideas required more discussion, and while not backing his call for the Commonwealth to vacate the field and hand childcare over to the states, Greens Leader Adam Bandt and Greens education spokesperson Dr Mehreen Faruqi said that it was time to start treating childcare as an essential public service.
“I’m glad that a Labor luminary is now joining the Green New Deal push for free childcare run on a not-for-profit basis,” said Greens Leader Adam Bandt.
“On my first day as Greens Leader I said that free childcare, run like schools on a not-for-profit basis, was core to a Green New Deal.
“We need to kickstart a national discussion about how we can give our kids the best start in life. Jay Weatherill’s idea is a good one and worthy of consideration.”
Senator Mehreen Faruqi said:
“Every child should have free learning and care, and every educator should have job security through the COVID-19 crisis.
“There’s no place for profit in education. Early learning and care is an essential public service. It must be funded and operated accordingly.
“The COVID-19 crisis has exposed some of the serious structural problems with childcare in Australia. Early childhood education and care needs a big rethink.”
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