Govt to maintain restriction on child care

Press, 23 February 1978, Page 10

Govt to maintain restriction on child care

Government day-care centres for children would put intolerable pressure on mothers, said the Minister of Social Welfare (Mr Walker) in Christchurch. Mr Walker was speaking at a public meeting in his electorate, Papanui, about remits passed at the Canterbury regional conference of the Labour Party last weekend.

The remit that the Government pay the full cost of day-care facilities for children would prove to be very expensive, he said, in human terms as well as monetary. “We see a place for the support which a good childcare centre can give to the families in our community, but are concerned to ensure that such support does not work to weaken the very structure it should seek to strengthen.’’ ■This would be the case if day-care was made freely available “for any family which wished to double the family income by the mother; taking up paid employment j outside the home,” Mr! Walker said. “If we were to accede to ■the requests of those who .feel that this is a require■ment for equality between i the sexes, such a situation ; would put an intolerable economic pressure on those mothers who would prefer to

care for their own children.” A considerable level of assistance was available for setting up day-care centres, but only if it could be shown that a sufficient proportion of the children attending needed the care “for their own sake, and not just for the convenience of the parents.” The Government's policy on the care of pre-school children was that the family was, and should remain, the paramount unit of child care. Mr Walker also spoke out against the Labour Party’s remits on abortion, saying that the party wanted the community to finance “abortion factories” in the four main centres. “But they do not want to make the decision for themselves,” Mr Walker said. “They want to put the issue to a referendum. You can imagine the flood of halftruths and misinformation we would be subjected to then.” Neither could the suggestion that private medical ; health schemes be phased out, be justified, he said. ; "New Zealanders are eni titled to freedom of choice. “Our health services are among the best in the world, but should a New Zealander opt for treatment in a private hospital through membership of a private medical scheme, that is his right,” lie said.