National's plans a 'great leap backward'

Trevor Mallard

The Government claims National's early childhood plans will be a great leap backwards for education, exposing children to abuse and poor quality care.

The assertion was made by Education Minister Trevor Mallard amid a volley of claims and counter-claims on the National policy.

National would offer tax rebates of up to $1650 per preschooler a year to working parents at an estimated total cost of $160 million.

In exchange, it would axe Labour's plan to introduce 20 hours of free childhood education for all children aged 3 and 4 who attend an approved community-based early education centre - a policy worth about $52 million a year.

Mr Mallard said Labour's plan was designed to target taxpayers' money towards quality childhood education for preschoolers, hence the restriction on which centres qualified for the Government subsidy.

"National is only interested in tax bribes for working parents, rather than helping kids learn. Putting kids in suburban back yards with 10 other children and without qualified and trained teachers - as National plans to do - is a great leap backwards."

Mr Mallard warned it would threaten iconic services like kindergartens and will "make children vulnerable to abuse and poor-quality care in unlicensed and unregulated situations".

Dr Cullen said the "nanny tax breaks" would sideline education spending to create a bigger bureaucracy via increased tax returns.

National education spokesman Bill English has said National would not axe sessional grants and childcare subsidies in place or scheduled to come into effect.

He first told the Herald yesterday National had not decided whether it would commit to spending what Labour had put aside to build the new centres. But he then gave a pledge National would stick to the spending plan.

He said Labour had committed only $20 million over four years to build the new centres, but this was not nearly enough money to honour its promise - in fact "a lie" - that all 3 and 4-year-olds would get 20 hours' free education.

A total of 45,000 kids were now in private centres and if all of those wanted to shift to take advantage of Labour's 20 hours policy there wouldn't be nearly enough approved centres to accommodate them.

He described Mr Mallard's claim the National policy may expose children to abuse as "ridiculous. It's just gutter politics."

The primary teachers' union opposes National's plan because it discriminates against the children of unemployed parents.

The NZ Childcare Association said it was a backwards step, but agreed private education providers should be able to be funded to offer the free hours. CHILDForum research network said the research Mr Mallard cited to claim early childhood education was vital was skewed and poorly constructed.