Opposition more serious on child care, says Lib MP
Email Print Normal font Large font By Catharine Munro
SMH May 14, 2006
Angry: Jackie Kelly, at her home yesterday, wants a meeting with the Prime Minister.
Photo: Tanya Lake
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AdvertisementOUTSPOKEN Liberal backbencher Jackie Kelly says the Opposition takes child care more seriously than her own party, and she has demanded a meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss the crisis.
The Federal MP for Lindsay, in Sydney's west, will argue that the budget delivered an inadequate response to the child-care crisis. She believes business needs incentives to provide more places for working mothers, and her Government failed to introduce them in the budget.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun-Herald from her home yesterday, Ms Kelly said the Government had a responsibility to do more on child care in order to lower Australia's divorce rate, now close to 50 per cent.
She said Mr Howard was being unrealistic about the parenting choices women were making.
They were choosing to work, even when they agreed with Mr Howard's view that it was better for children if they stayed at home, she said.
Liberal-voting women were having babies when their careers were taking off and needed more support in juggling the demands of their children, bosses and husbands.
"I think the trend is away from mums staying at home," she said. "If we nail it right for mums who are working, I guarantee we will see the divorce rate go down."
Child care was taken more seriously by the Federal Opposition, Ms Kelly said, because there were several working mothers, including Chisholm MP Anna Burke and Sydney MP Tanya Plibersek, who had a voice in caucus.
"I look around the party room and no women are doing it," she said, referring to her parliamentary colleagues.
Ms Kelly arrived back yesterday from an overseas trip and put calls in to the Prime Minister and the Treasurer.
"I would like to speak to John Howard, definitely," she told The Sun-Herald.
"Child care needs a bit of leadership. We have missed an opportunity with this budget. Kim Beazley is obviously talking child care as an attack, saying you could have done more.
"It's hard not to disagree with that when you have got $10 billion in your kitty."
Ms Kelly said the Government needed to create more incentives for employers to help mothers with child care, including removing fringe benefits tax from child care and offering cash incentives to employers to provide the service.