Childcare’s money trap... and why free doesn’t mean free Direct flight delayed

A policy that promised free early childhood education for kids aged 3 to 5 has faded so far that parents are now routinely paying $65 a day.

Michelle Duff reveals government subsidies have been effectively completely swallowed up, and parents are back to paying what they were before ‘‘20 Hours Free’’ was introduced.

Parents are routinely paying more than $300 a week for childcare for over 3-year-olds even with the 20 hours subsidy, with the promise of a child’s right to access ‘‘free’’ care now completely swallowed up.

Dozens of women spoken to for a Sunday

Star-Times investigation talked of being forced to leave their jobs, change careers, cut back hours, bring their babies to work or ferry family members from other parts of the country to look after their children.

Working parents are confused and overwhelmed by the cost, having little idea how fees for their little ones are charged and where they are spent. Many families struggled to find quality child care in their area, only to be thrown into debt by the fees.

‘‘If we were on an average wage we couldn’t afford to send our kids to daycare, no way,’’ says Wellington mum Jennifer Ross, who pays $1349 a fortnight for her 3-year-old twins to be in full-time day care – $67 a day, with the subsidy.

‘‘We pay the same for the mortgage, which to me is absolutely insane.’’

Overall, fees paid by parents have increased by 50% since the policy that spoke of the universal right to quality preschool for 3-5 year olds was introduced.

In 2018, Education Minister Chris Hipkins committed to ‘‘putting the free’’ back in ECE for 3-5 year olds. But four years later, parents say they are struggling to pay.

Most parents spoken to by the Star-Times said the 20 Hours policy is a help, typically driving down the cost at a for-profit service by about a third. But with the rise in fees and cost of living, it isn’t enough, particularly with more than one child.

For public servant Ross, finding good quality child care and deciphering the fees was a struggle. ‘‘There’s no consistency, it makes things really difficult because you have to contact every daycare and ask. It’s like a bidding war more than anything.’’

Ross initially went back to work parttime three days a week, but after paying for childcare, only $60 of her salary remained. ‘‘From a financial perspective it didn’t really make sense for me to send them to daycare, but for my own mental health it did.’’

She ended up going back to work full time, so she could afford it.

Fellow Wellingtonian Sarah McCawe did the opposite – with her second child, instead of paying for both kids to attend the only daycare she liked with spaces available that charged $90 a day and no discount for over 3s, she left her $95,000 a year job entirely.

‘‘I wanted to go back two days a week – I would have been making $100 a week. It’s kind of an all or nothing scenario, it doesn’t work if you want to do a little bit. Daycares don’t want to offer half days or bitsy kind of flexible days.’’

Another couple, who asked not to be named, is in $3000 of debt with their childcare provider after struggling to pay $500 a week for their two children.

Once the oldest turned 3 his costs reduced to $170 a week, with $245 for the younger child. But the middle income couple, who work as a painter and a legal secretary and earned $107,000 combined last year, struggled to pay, the mother said.

While Work and Income subsidies help low income parents, the limit for a couple with two kids is $87,100. ‘‘It was extremely hard, we went to WINZ multiple times ... I asked my employer ‘What can I do? It’s so expensive I can’t afford to work but I can’t not work because we wouldn’t get enough to live on.’’

She and her husband eat a lot of noodles and potatoes, to keep the boys fed. ‘‘I don’t

Air New Zealand’s non-stop flight from New York touched down in Auckland yesterday morning, about two hours behind schedule, after earlier fears it would have to be diverted to Fiji for refuelling due to strong winds on its flight path. About 80 passengers who had connecting flights were rebooked. Janelle Ellwood missed her connecting flight to Brisbane but raved about the service on board. The flight was only the third service from New York since the much-awaited route launched last weekend. The luggage of about 65 passengers was left behind in the Big Apple on Monday. .