A recent study shows childcare costs in the Logan region have outstripped the national average growth in prices.
Rankin Labor MP Jim Chalmers said child care fees had jumped 6.2% over the past 12 months in Logan-Beaudesert, compared to 2.2% on other goods and services nationally.
That equates to $8.90 per hour.
The study showed Beenleigh had the highest hourly costs, averaging $9.31 per hour, followed by Browns Plains ($9.09), Loganlea-Carbrook ($8.81), Sprngwood-Kingston ($8.69) and Jimboomba ($8.59).
Liberal Member for Forde Bert van Manen said 71% of parents were paying less than $5 per hour.
“Under the Child Care Subsidy, the hourly rate cap helps to place downward pressure on fees. Since the introduction of the child care subsidy, out-of-pocket costs for families are down 3.2%,” he said.
“Families pay taxes and under Labor’s plan a family living in Beenleigh earning $80,000 a year will be subsidising the child care fees of a family in Sydney earning $360,000 a year.”
Mr Chalmers said the Child Care Subsidy was failing to keep up with “out of control” fee increases.
“Many families that I speak to are increasingly concerned that childcare fees, a burden even before the virus outbreak, will become totally unaffordable as the effects of the recession continue in our community,” he said.
He said child care fees had risen 35.9% since 2013.
“The Morrison Government has broken their promise to families that the new system would bring fees down. They have no plan to control skyrocketing fees,” Mr Chalmers said.
He said Labor recently announced that a Federal Labor Government would introduce the Working Family Childcare Boost to cut child care fees and put more money into the pockets of working families.
This new scheme would see 97 per cent of all families save between $600 and $2,900 every year, with no family worse off under the proposed arrangements, he said.
