AMANDA RISHWORTH MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT

SENATOR JENNY MCALLISTER
SENATOR FOR NEW SOUTH WALES
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES

UNITING CARE REPORT SHOWS CONCERTED EFFORT NEEDED TO TACKLE CHILD POVERTY

Labor is committed to tackling child poverty and putting Australia’s children first.

A new report shows that 1 in 6 children are living in poverty, reinforcing the need for a concerted, sustained effort to tackle this issue.

The report from Uniting Care Australia and NATSEM shows that children are experiencing disadvantage on multiple fronts producing alarming rates of social exclusion.

Housing stress, limited access to education and health care, and reliance on low paid and insecure work places enormous pressure on families and their children.

Labor welcomes this important report, and congratulates Uniting Care Australia and NATSEM for producing this significant resource.

Labor believes that every child should have the opportunity to meet their full potential. No child deserves to live in poverty.

Labor wants our children to have the best possible start in life which is why we want universal access to preschool for our four year old and three year olds.

There is overwhelming evidence to show that the children who miss out on early years learning, often those children from disadvantaged backgrounds are the ones who would benefit most from a preschool program.

That is why earlier this month Labor announced its National Preschool and Kindy Program.

Labor’s program is a commitment to permanent ongoing funding to the national preschool and kindy program for all four year olds and importantly will, for the first time, extend to cover all three year olds.

The National Preschool and Kindy Program will guarantee around 700,000 Australian children a year will be able to access subsidised preschool. This program will offer two years of high quality, play based learning to support the most important years of a child’s development.

The National Preschool and Kindy Program is part of Labor’s Fair Go Action plan which will support Australian children.

We will properly fund our hospitals, to ensure all children can access timely, quality health care.

We will tackle the housing crisis by reforming negative gearing and providing opportunities for young families to enter the housing market.

And we will reverse the cuts to penalty rates that hardworking Australians rely on to support their families.

Labor has a plan to put Australia’s children first.

TUESDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2018

MEDIA CONTACT: KATE HANNS (RISHWORTH) 0423 974 363

NATHAN ROBERTSON (MCALLISTER) 0423 874 662