A Dean Winter Labor Government will give childcare the fresh start it needs in Tasmania.
We will work closely with the Albanese Government to make sure more Tasmanian families can access and benefit from Federal Labor’s Cheaper Child Care initiatives which are all about reducing the cost of care - and helping to reduce the barrier to workforce participation.
We will change the rules to require that childcare centres are provided in every new public school or major redevelopment and make space at schools available for existing providers to set up new centres.
We will identify areas in regional Tasmania that need child care the most, get new centres up and running, then handover over to council or the community sector and move on.
This program will start on the West Coast, where there is no childcare available at all. To get things started, we will provide $500,000 over the next two years.
We will then move to other areas of the state based on where childcare is needed most.
After 11 years of the Liberals, Tasmania doesn’t have enough childcare centres to meet demand. Many parents are forced into making tough decisions about how much they can work, making it harder to keep up with the bills.
Accessible, quality early education is good for our economy, good for workforce participation, good for our children and ensures they get the best start to their school life.
It's time for a fresh start for Tasmania, and my Labor team and I are ready to deliver it.
Dean Winter MP
Labor Leader
