CHILD CARE RELIEF FOR MACQUARIE FAMILIES

October 22, 2007

Labor candidate for Macquarie Bob Debus today welcomed Kevin Rudd's announcement that a Rudd Labor Government would slash child-care costs by lifting the child care tax rebate from 30 per cent to 50 per cent .

The rebate would be paid every three months rather than once a year.

" Labor's $1.5 billion Affordable Child Care Plan will give parents a 50 per cent rebate for their out-of-pocket child care costs," said Mr Debus.

" This is a huge boost to Macquarie families who are already under pressure from soaring mortgage repayments, high petrol prices and the cost of groceries.

" Kevin Rudd's 50 per cent education tax refund announced last week, combined with today's 50 per cent child care tax rebate, gives Mountains families the help they need from the time children start child care through to when they finish school.

" Labor's Affordable Child Care Plan will:

* Increase the child care tax rebate to 50 per cent, covering up to $7500 a year of out-of-pocket costs for every child in the Blue Mountains
*Pay the 50% child care tax rebate quarterly, so parents no longer have to wait one to two years to receive their money

" This plan will help parents with the tough decision to start child care," said Mr Debus.

" Parents want to make sure that child care is high-quality and affordable.

Federal Labor's Affordable Child Care Plan will help families in the Mountains meet their weekly budget.

" In contrast, Mr Howard has said "Australian families have never been better off". After 11 years, Mr Howard has lost touch. His Families Minister, Mal Brough, has denied there is a child care crisis.

Mr Brough said: "There is no crisis – I have been saying long and hard there are no crises." (April 19, 2007 – Canberra press conference).

However, the recent Blue Mountains child care survey, the 2006 Census and the Howard Government's child-care data has exposed:

* The cost of child care has doubled during Mr Howard's 11 years in power
* In the Blue Mountains, more than 200 children under two years are on long day-care waiting lists. At least 100 children aged between two and five are waiting for places and many families are waiting up to 12 months
* 11 of the 12 long day-care centres in the Mountains have raised their fees this year, some by up to 10 per cent. The average cost is $56 a day, or $280 a week for full-time care
* Blue Mountains families on a median income would receive about $77 a week in federal child-care subsidies for full-time care
* Blue Mountains parents pay up to $203 a week out of their own pocket (median income families)

Under Federal Labor's Affordable Child Care Plan the combination of Child Care Benefit and Labor's 50% Child Care Tax Rebate means that:

* A family with an income of $80,000 and one child in long day care for 40 hours a week will receive almost $1500 of additional assistance each year – 66 per cent of their total child-care costs will be covered by a Rudd Labor Government.
* A family with an income of $50,000 and one child in long day care for 40 hours a week will receive more than $1000 of additional assistance each year – 76 per cent of their total child-care costs will be covered by a Rudd Labor Government.
* A family with an income of $35,000 and one child in long-day care for 20 hours a week will receive $330 of additional assistance each year - 85 per cent of their total child-care costs will be covered by a Rudd Labor Government