The first economic recession in a lifetime has governments everywhere scrambling to come up with ways to spend money to protect jobs. Most of these initiatives are 'shovel ready' construction projects in male-dominated industries.
This spending fails to help more women participate in the workforce. That is why a universal childcare subsidy is a major economic reform that will benefit our economy for decades to come.
According to a report by the Australia Institute, spending on services like childcare creates more jobs per dollar spent than expenditure in areas like construction. Increasing access to childcare stimulates the economy because it boosts consumer demand by increasing the disposable income of families with young children.
If Australia could achieve the same female participation rates as Nordic countries, our economy would grow by between $60 billion and $100 billion a year. Nordic countries have more generous childcare policies resulting in higher rates of women in full-time work.
For Australian women in their 20s, the participation rate is comparable to that of Nordic countries, but it falls away significantly when women reach their 30s and families start raising children.
NSW can start closing the female-male participation gap by making preschool free for a further 18 months to boost workforce participation and kickstart the State's economic recovery. This extension of free preschool should be included as a key stimulus measures in the upcoming State budget.
NSW families are struggling and access to free preschool will ease the pressure on household budgets so kids can stay in vital early learning regardless of their parents' financial position.
There is nothing more important than giving every child in NSW access to quality education. That starts before school. In this recession, with lots of families doing it tough financially, it is essential that no child misses out on the best possible start.
