A mother of three from Melbourne has been left disappointed after the federal budget failed to deliver any new measures to ease the burden of childcare costs. Olivia Gallo, who has a toddler and newborn twins, is currently paying $450 per day for childcare, a significant strain on her family's finances.
Budget fails to address childcare affordability
During a 7NEWS budget special, Gallo asked whether the government would introduce policies to reduce childcare expenses. She said, "A lot of what I've been hearing is that this is a budget for young people. I am a young person ... I've got a toddler and we've just had twins, one of our biggest expenses and stresses is childcare." She highlighted that childcare centres charge $150 per day per child, totalling $450 daily for her family.
Gallo questioned whether any savings or revenue measures in the budget would be directed towards achieving universal childcare, a goal often mentioned by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Experts confirm lack of support
Financial adviser James Wrigley and Dr Aruna Sathanapally, CEO of the Grattan Institute, dashed Gallo's hopes. Wrigley stated, "There's nothing in the budget specifically for expanding childcare support. Earlier this year, there was some expansion to allow different people with different income levels some more support for childcare. But there's nothing specific in the budget for people that are dealing with the expensive cost of childcare at the moment."
Sathanapally described the omission as a "big miss" in the budget. She noted that the government had announced plans to establish an early childhood commission, which she called "an important step to universal childcare." She explained, "One of the things we don't do in Australia is provide childcare through government services or pay providers to provide it in particular areas. We really give people money to go and use private childcare services. If we're going to change that, if we're going to provide childcare such that it's actually located where people need it to be, and it's universally affordable, then we're going to need a commission that can actually identify where we need it. It's a first step."
Sathanapally added that the budget's improving fiscal position could open opportunities for future announcements.
