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THOUSANDS of parents will receive a childcare cash bonus of up to $4200 from the Howard Government as they prepare to go to the polling booths. The payment will also roughly coincide with the release of the controversially delayed 2005-06 childcare rebate, to be paid via a family's 2006-07 tax return. “A cynical person might say this was all held off for the intention of being an election sweetener for families who were struggling to afford the care,” childcare campaigner Rebecca Bartel says in today's edition of The Weekend Australian. “There seems no reason why the system couldn't have kicked in immediately after the (May) budget, rather than waiting until September.” The $4200 childcare bonus, announced in the budget, is based on the hours a child spends in daycare with the maximum at 50 hours. Most children spend about 22 hours a week, equating to a bonus payment of about $800 per child per year. |
