Child-care Scare

Newcastle Herald

Saturday September 13, 2008

JACQUI JONES - CIVIC

NON-profit child-care centres fear they will have to increase fees or cut costs and staff if Newcastle City Council moves to increase building rents from $1 to $9500 a year.

The council has said it is consulting centres about the possibility of recovering costs for maintenance of buildings and is not yet increasing rents.

But carers are worried about what that could mean for next financial year.

Sue Legg, director of Glendore Child Care Centre, Maryland, said the council suggested increasing a $1 annual peppercorn rent to $9500 a year, the amount based on the centre having 45 licensed places.

Mrs Legg said the proposed new arrangements could apply to another centre at Maryland and others at Adamstown, Elermore Vale, New Lambton, Hamilton, Jesmond and Wallsend, which have 39 to 50 licensed places each.

"We're a community child-care centre," she said.

"We've only got one place to get money from and that's charge the parents who are already paying. It's that, or we reduce staff . . . or cut costs."

A council spokeswoman said rents would not rise for now.

The council was consulting individual centres about the potential effect on their operations if the council were to recover costs for structural maintenance.

"We are working with the centres to consider these issues and welcome their input," the spokeswoman said.

The council considered last year, but dropped after community protest, a proposal to hand its child-care centres to private operators.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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