FamilyBoost changes will exacerbate inequity of ECE access – NZCTU

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi is warning that the FamilyBoost changes announced today by Finance Minister Nicola Willis will fail to make early childhood education more affordable for the families who need it most and will instead widen inequities.

“The Government has missed an opportunity to reflect on the failure of the FamilyBoost scheme and pivot towards improving access and affordability through expanding universal free-fees entitlements and moving towards a quality public ECE system,” said NZCTU Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges.

“FamilyBoost puts an administrative burden on whānau and teachers while failing to deal with the key issues in early childhood education, which include low wages, systemic underfunding, and a private model that results in high profits for big corporates.

“The changes announced today disproportionately benefit high-income households, who are already much more likely to be able to afford to send their kids to ECE centres. This means the benefit of the scheme will be weighted against those who need it most.

“Access to quality early childhood education helps ensure that children have the best possible start in life, and no families should be denied that due to costs.

“The revised scheme does nothing to support the development of new centres or to help low-income groups into ECE provision. Instead, the Government has loaded up its support for higher-income groups, once again demonstrating their priorities,” said Ansell-Bridges.