EXCERPTS
Parents are voicing their opposition to proposed changes to early childhood care and education which they fear will lead to fewer and less qualified staff looking after their children.
There have been six public hearings, 518 submissions and 806 comments made since the release of the Productivity Commission's draft report on childcare in July.
Submissions on the proposed changes closed last month, and advocacy group The Parenthood said thousands of parents had completed a survey canvassing the issues.
Executive director Fiona Sugden said the group had 20,000 members around the country and the survey was the largest of its kind in Australia.
At last count, 95per cent of parents who participated said they would not send their child to a centre with lower educator-to-child ratios in return for lower fees.
Families have been encouraged to fill out the survey by service providers, advocacy groups and friends by word of mouth and on social media.
Primary school teachers Suzie Selwood and Ingrid Bellamy, whose children attend KU Kahibah Road Children's Centre, described the proposed watering down of qualifications required by teachers of children aged 0 to 3 as a backward step.
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