Childcare plans come under fire

Some families are expected to miss out on Labour's promise of more free pre-school education because there will not be enough eligible childcare centres in their area.

And 14 months after Education Minister Trevor Mallard announced that every 3- and 4-year-old would be entitled to 20 hours' free education from 2007, the Government is still unable to explain in detail how the plan will work.

However, the sector is not convinced that National's alternative of tax rebates for working parents whose children are in pre-school would work much better. While it is simpler, it remains unclear who will be best off under which plan.

Statistics obtained by the Weekend Herald reveal parts of the country will struggle to offer the 20 free hours promised by Labour.

Only community-owned centres are eligible for the free hours subsidy. Yet most parts of New Zealand have far more private centres than community-owned ones, and some towns and suburbs (see box) have no community-owned centres at all.

Nancy Bell, chief executive of the Childcare Association, said coverage under Labour's plan would be patchy.

National's rebates would be welcomed, Ms Bell said, "but we see this Government's commitment to free education and childcare as a commitment to a wider and long-term future".

The difference between the parties is a philosophical one. Labour wants to fund early childhood centres to provide high-quality education and a seamless link from the age of 3 to school and beyond.

Not-for-profit centres with well-qualified teachers will be paid to offer 20 hours' free childhood education. But this in effect penalises private providers and parent-led playcentres and in turn any parent who cannot access a community-based centre.

National will give extra cash to working parents to make their own decision as to where their children spend the pre-school years. But this could mean some of the children who need early education the most are left with nothing more than a baby sitter.

At Kids Domain, a full-time, community-based early learning centre in Auckland with 150 children on the waiting list, manager Julianne Exton said she liked the idea of 20 free hours but was concerned that many children would miss out because of the lack of access.

But she is sceptical of National's proposal because it fails to draw a distinct line between "early childhood education" and "childcare".

"The idea of the government funding Mary Bloggs up the road to nurse the kids worries me," Ms Exton said.

"I genuinely want parents to have choice, but you wouldn't have a baby-sitting service as an acceptable alternative to school and it shouldn't be for early childhood."

One institution whose future remains unclear under Labour is the kindergarten. There are 108 in Auckland that offer sessional care and education to 9000 children, with another 9000 on waiting lists.

Tanya Harvey, general manager of the Auckland Kindergarten Association, said it was unclear how kindergartens, which already gave 15 hours free care and relied on donations, could practically offer the 20 hours.

However, Ms Harvey remained reluctant to back National because Labour's strategic plan and investment in early childhood education were "well ahead of the game".

Early Childhood Council chief executive Sue Thorne said the decision was relatively simple: "National's comes in a year earlier, has three times the amount of money and does not discriminate."

However, she admitted that both parties had missed the mark - and possibly a golden chance to make election gains. "If I had the choice to spend all this extra money that the parties seem to have found, I would target children truly in need, through the childcare subsidy."

National

* Cost: $160m

* Child Eligibility: All preschool children

* Parent Eligibility: Parents paying tax (and those who qualify for student allowance)

* Provider Eligibility: Early childhood centres and homebased care

* Impact Coverage: Estimated 180,000 children

* Payment mechanism: Tax rebate, one third of out of pocket costs up to $5000 per year (up to $31.73 per week)

* Payment recipient: Taxpayer/parent

* Other limits or Conditions: Will require additional administration (IRD, people having to file tax rebate forms)

Labour

* Cost: $52m

* Child Eligibility: Children aged 3 and 4

* Parent Eligibility: Parents able to access a centre managed by a community group

* Provider Eligibility: Community-based centres with qualified teachers

* Impact Coverage: Estimated 67,000 children

* Payment mechanism: Additional funding of selected services of up to $90pw for up to 20 hours, and pro rata for less than 20 hours

* Payment recipient: Early childhood education service

* Other limits or conditions: Will require additional administrative tracking and reporting of each child usage to avoid 'double-dipping'