Rishworth questions Government’s commitment to preschool funding

Amanda Rishworth, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education and Development, has highlighted the failure of the Coalition Government to guarantee funding for the Universal Access preschool program beyond 2019, calling the response “deeply concerning”.

During Question Time on 15 October, Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was asked to guarantee funding for the Australian preschoolers after 2019 following discussions about the Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO). Mr Frydenberg refused to make any commitment beyond the next calendar year.

Ms Rishworth described the lack of commitment as deeply concerning for parents and educators, before highlighting the Labor Government’s National Preschool and Kindy Program, which would provide ongoing funding to four year old preschool and extend the program to include three year olds.

“Labor is committed to providing the best possible start in life to our youngest citizens, which is why we have committed to the biggest ever investment in early childhood education in Australia” Ms Rishworth said.