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With a federal election looming, some early childhood issues will be in the spotlight … with others staying in the too-hard basket. At the top of the to-do list—or at least the to-talk-about list—will be access and affordability: issues that are quantifiable and easy to discuss but not necessarily those that pose real challenges.
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We have seen improvements in the overall numbers of childcare places since the last election but the supply remains patchy. Affordability, too, has improved, but data shows child care is more expensive. The reality is that creeping costs make childcare fees rise, but increase in cost does not equate to increase in quality—and providing quality child care is, by definition, expensive.
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The funding issue that needs most attention is the childcare subsidy (Child Care Benefit). Clearly the maximum subsidy of $148 per week barely covers the costs of quality child care, now running at about $70–120 per day. Hopefully at least one political party will think about broadening the scope of the subsidy to include preschool participation and revisit means-testing and income thresholds.
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It is timely to think about the re-introduction of operational subsidies for early childhood services. The sector has changed profoundly over the past decade. Now it is time to establish whether these changes have been for the better. The National Agenda for Early Childhood set out to do this, but its progress has been derailed.
As parties decide their policies, other issues likely to be in the spotlight are family violence and child abuse and neglect. In the Northern Territory, where I am now based, there are many children living in homes and communities where alcohol, drug abuse, violence and poverty are the norm. There needs to be a concerted bipartisan effort to improve experiences and outcomes for these children.
We are likely to hear more about how each party will tackle childhood obesity and improve child health. Last federal election there was a focus on improving 'parenting'—but its associations with Mark Latham's defeat will necessitate a dramatic rhetoric shift for this to be on the agenda again.
Given the strong bipartisan focus on improving literacy and education, and visions of Australians being the best-trained people in the world, education will be high on the agenda. Improvement in early childhood education is at the core of meaningful improvements in school retention and attainment so this area will be in focus.
National curriculum and testing may be leading the education debate, but the upcoming focus will be mainly on older children. Unfortunately, decisions on a nationally uniform school starting age, which could have underpinned greater consistency in educational experiences and quality, seem to have been shelved for the foreseeable future.
While Australia's literacy performance is generally good and most children are on par with those in comparable countries, there is a huge achievement gap. Too many children, particularly in rural and remote communities, fail to make the grade. Improving the teaching of literacy is critical; but there must also be bipartisan efforts to improve school resources in disadvantaged communities, especially Indigenous ones. Only with the best teachers, most-personalised curricula and reading programs will literacy levels improve.
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It is early days yet and many policies will be launched. Presumably we'll see a number of policies focusing specifically on early childhood care and education, and child and family wellbeing. I suspect, however, we won't hear discussion about anything that is too difficult to achieve, such as the accreditation of early childhood care and education courses (both vocational and tertiary), a national registration system for early childhood carers and educators, or consistent national early childhood licensing legislation and regulation.
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This year's election presents an opportunity for everyone to create positive change for Australia's early childhood carers, educators and children. Later this year Early Childhood Australia will be suggesting ways in which you can make your voice heard in relation to election issues but, for now, I hope the articles in this Every Child—which cover a range of issues challenging the images of a 'traditional' children's service (if there ever was such a thing)—are a source of inspiration and a call to action.
Alison Elliott
Editor
Every Child
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