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EXCERPTS
Federal government assertions there are sufficient childcare facilities in South Australia are palpably false.
Many parents desperate to find reliable and affordable childcare places so that they can work are facing long waiting lists or, in some cases, the difficult option of travelling long distances to drop-off and pick up their children.
Investigations by The Advertiser have debunked claims by the Families Minister, Mal Brough, that there are no problems obtaining childcare places.
While Mr Brough must be commended for personally involving himself in the childcare debate, he has apparently been hoodwinked by the Government's own childcare hotline in the same way hundreds of parents are being misled.
Instead of the hotline channelling parents to apparent vacancies, some childcare centres are using the system to generate future business by claiming they have vacancies even when they do not.
Hopeful parents are guided to centres which apparently have vacancies, only to be parked in a waiting list.
...
Childcare may be a relatively new community phenomenon.
However, it is no longer a luxury available only to those who can afford it.
For many trying to balance parenthood with employment, it is as essential as schools and public transport.
- reprinted from the Adelaide Advertiser