Budget move to subsidise pre-schoolers from three to help families with childcare costs
A NSW Budget move to subsidise pre-school for three-year-olds to help families struggling with childcare costs could face pushback from education experts who say three is too young to send kids to school. Find out what the “People’s Budget” means for you.
NSW
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PRE-SCHOOL will now be subsidised for three-year-olds in a Budget move by Treasurer Dominic Perrottet to help families struggling to meet childcare costs.
The pledge — which will save families $800 a year — is part of what Mr Perrottet last night dubbed the “people’s Budget”.
However, it could face pushback from some education experts who say three is too young to send kids to school or start preparing them for tests like NAPLAN.
At least 6500 three-year-olds will access the preschool scheme, which will cost about $200 million.
It joins a suite of cost of living measures in today’s Budget, from helping families get cheaper energy bills, free apprenticeships for 100,000 people and connecting people to government financial assistance.
“This is a Budget that puts people first,” Mr Perrottet said yesterday. “We work hard keeping out finances in shape, so we can do more today for families who need it.”
The Daily Telegraph can also reveal the budget will detail how NSW is the first quarter trillion dollar state, in terms of net worth — a year earlier than predicted.
The 2017-18 budget result is a surplus of $3.9 billion, with surpluses averaging $1.6 billion projected for each year over the next four.
It’s a better than excepted result, which the Treasurer will attribute to growth in mining royalties, investment returns and the GST pool.
Mr Perrottet did not back away from the educational impact of sending children to preschool for two years.
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“Benefits from two years of quality early childhood education include stronger student performance in NAPLAN and PISA, as well as longer term benefits such as increased likelihood of university attendance, higher lifetime earnings and better health outcomes,” he said.
However, parenting expert Justin Coulson said children could face long-term mental health issues if they were separated from their parents too early in life.
“Separating children from parents at younger ages and putting them into institutional care can be fraught with risk,” he said. “The most likely risk is an increased risk of depression anxiety and stress.”
The NSW government first rolled out subsidies for four year olds for preschool in 2016, reducing average daily fees by about a quarter.
The move increased enrolments by 40 per cent.
FAMILIES WELCOME INVESTMENT IN CHILDCARE
SYDNEY families have welcomed the multimillion-dollar investment into child care which will subsidise care for children as young as three.
Grasmere parents Peter and Erin Ingram say the Berejiklian Government’s $250 million cost-of-living measure would provide relief for struggling families.
“Electricity is quite expensive. We moved a little over 12 months ago and the power bills seem to be a lot higher at the new place than they were at the previous — I don’t know why,”
“I think the child care subsidy will be beneficial because the cost of living is so high and both parents need to work nowadays so getting child care support earlier is definitely going to ease the burden for these families.
“We are very much in support of this.”
The change will reduce the minimum age a child is eligible for subsidies from four to three.
The couple is also keen to put Service NSW’s One-Click Energy Switch tool to work, which actively searches for better energy deals for consumers.
“Electricity is quite expensive. We moved a little over 12 months ago and the power bills seem to be a lot higher at the new place than they were at the previous — I don’t know why,” Mr Ingram, 33, said.
“We spend about $1,100 or $1,200 a quarter at the moment so if they can be made smaller that would be nice.”
WHAT THE BUDGET MEANS FOR YOU
Mr Ingram said the new tool would save him hours on the phone following up confusing quotes with different electricity providers.
“If they’ve got a simple tool like that then we’ll be definitely logging on and trying to find something cheaper,” he said.
Ms Ingram, 34, welcomed the $157 million to support new parents but said the government’s $150 baby hamper would be better spent on mental health support instead of products.
“It should be spent on things like educating first time mums on things like postnatal depression and caring and support for mums with more children,” she said.
“Mental health support possibly for mums and families rather than products.”