Federal election 2016: childcare costs a key issue for voters

Childcare and early learning costs would influence a third of voters to support candidates who back affordable access.

The soaring costs of childcare would influence a third of Australian voters, says a new Galaxy poll. Picture: John Feder

Soaring childcare and early learning costs would influence almost a third of Australians to specifically support political candidates who back affordable access ahead of other issues, according to a nat­ional poll.

The survey of 1000 Australians older than 18, conducted by ­Galaxy Research for Early Childhood Australia, reveals that 85 per cent of Australians believe access to early education for children younger than five will improve the nation’s future prosperity.

The survey was taken last week during an election campaign in which major political parties have largely ignored early education.

While the Coalition has ­delayed its $3.5 billion Jobs for Families package until the middle of 2018, Labor is expected to ­announce what it will do to recut the policy within the same funding envelope, despite blocking most of the Coalition’s earmarked family tax benefit savings which pay for it.

The Australian revealed yesterday that the average cost of childcare for each child is now $90 a day across the country and $200 a day for places in CBD centres.

Early Childhood Australia chief executive Samantha Page said the message to the major parties was clear. “It seems early learning provis­ion resonates as an issue beyond the women’s vote, and that Australians would welcome a more sophisticated policy position from all parties and acknowledgment that making quality early learning affordable for all families is also an investment in future human capit­al and productivity,” she said.

Greens voters (43 per cent) were most likely to prioritise candid­ates who ­support affordable access, closely followed by Labor voters on 42 per cent, while Coal­ition voters largely had other ­issues of concern, with 25 per cent saying they would vote for supportive candidates. The poll found young men aged 18-24 were the biggest believers in early learning as a force for economic good, with 90 per cent agreeing policies that promoted affordable access were necessary for national prosperity. Those with household incomes of more than $100,000 were also more likely to back the statement, with 89 per cent in support.

“Our reforms give hardworking lower income families an 85 per cent subsidy, which tapers down to 20 per cent for higher income families,” Education Minister Simon Birmingham said. “Our policy is both fair and funded, while Labor’s child care promises are ... an unfunded magic pudding.”