EXCERPTS
At least 12,000 children from poor families who need child care are missing out because their parents cannot afford the fees, a report shows.
The findings were released by The Australia Institute, a Canberra lobby group. Tuesday's budget is likely to include a child-care program.
The study also shows that at least 11,000 children from middle-income families who want child care are similarly shut out by spiralling fees. Fees range from a high of $202 a week for one child in full-time care to a low of $170.
In the past year, costs have risen by 12.7 per cent, six times more than the price rise for other goods.
Michael Flood, the author of the study, said the Federal Government had shown little commitment to stemming the growing cost of child care.
Last year the ABS reported that more than 30,000 children who needed formal care or extra care missed out because their parents could not afford it.
- reprinted from the Sydney Morning Herald