May 15, 2015
Budget 2015: Families package punishes children
Working mother. They’re fighting words in the “mummy wars’’, pitting mums who look after their kids at home against those who get paid for their work.
“All mothers work hard,’’ is the mantra Social Affairs Minister Scott Morrison has been repeating ad nauseam for weeks. The budget changes will make some mothers work even harder.
Despite a boost to funding for childcare, in real terms the budget cuts funding to families with children — by 4 per cent next year and by 5.1 per cent in 2016-17.
Childcare funding will jump 41 per cent in real terms between now and 2018-19. Even so, overall spending on families with children will fall 2.9 per cent in real terms in the next three years. Total spending will grow from $38.1 billion to $39.8bn in 2018-19; not enough to keep up with population growth or inflation.
Full Article: The Australian