Commuting to the NT: Why Ravenshoe parents are at the end of their tether

Remote Far North Queensland families are being pushed out of employment, with one mum commuting interstate for work, as they fight for full-time childcare in their small town.

Ravenshoe Limited Hours Childcare. Picture: Supplied

Ravenshoe families are being pushed out of employment, with one mum commuting interstate for work, as they fight for full-time childcare in their small town.

Under the cost of living strain, Ravenshoe families are continuing to advocate for better childcare options and access to subsidies after years of campaigning to turn the only state-funded childcare centre in town into a full-time service.

Working Ravenshoe mum of four Monica Lee Sye has been campaigning for long-hour daycare in the small country town for more than two years.

“We’ve been fighting for so long, and we’re tired and all we want is a simple, simple thing,” Ms Lee Sye said.

Mum of four Monica Lee Sye is campaigning for better childcare options in her small town where currently mums are struggling to find work that will allow them to look after their children. Picture: Supplied

Earlier this year, Ms Lee Sye reached out to the state government for support but received a letter back suggesting she look into nearby childcare options in Atherton and surrounding towns.

“I don’t have the time or the money to drop my kids off in Atherton,” she said.

Ms Lee Sye spoke of another mother who had recently moved to the area but was forced to turn down full time work in Ravenshoe due to the lack of childcare options, and now commutes to the Northern Territory for FIFO work, where her children stay with family during working hours.

“How bad is that, if you have to leave the state to get childcare,” Ms Lee Sye said.

Grandmother and grocery store attendant Jody McMurray said the lack of long hours meant her daughter has had to rely on her for childcare.

Ravenshoe Limited Hours Childcare. Picture: Supplied

“I still have to work, plus I have a farm to run, I live on my own and I care for somebody else,” the grandmother of two said.

“I love them dearly, but I can’t sit inside all day with the kids,” she said.

Ms McMurray added the lack of childcare has impacted the town as a whole, with businesses struggling to find workers and parents forced out of the workforce.

“The way the economy is, most families need both incomes to survive,” she said.

“Where I work, we need staff but we’re finding it hard because most of the mums can only do certain times.”

Ravenshoe grandma Jody McMurray looks after 4 month old Ariella and 2 year old Tyson for her daughter who has limited access to childcare in town. Picture: Jody McMurray

Working mum Vicky Louw said the limited spaces could mean she or her husband will be forced to stay home once her maternity leave ends.

“My newborn is on the waiting list but I was told they could only take four babies under two,” Ms Louw said.

“It’s too small for what the community needs.

“We just feel like we can’t apply for jobs, which is stunting our earning potential, because we don’t know what we’ll be able to do with the kids,” she said.

A previous application to extend capacity for Ravenshoe childcare centre and qualify for the federal childcare subsidy was in progress when the Ravenshoe Community Centre management committee, who preside over the running of the childcare centre, decided to defer the application.

In a statement, the committee cited “high cost of living and increasing difficulty to acquire staff and volunteers” as reason for their decision but said they would continue to review the viability of full time service.

Ms Lee Sye said the committee didn’t realise how much the lack of childcare options was affecting parents.

“We’re willing to start a subcommittee and do all the work, we’ve just to open that door and walk through it,” she said.

Originally published as Commuting to the NT: Why Ravenshoe parents are at the end of their tether