[Muanet] Murdoch Public Meeting - Fight Childcare Discrimination: Single Parents Deserve an Education

[Christopher Latham]

Fight Childcare Discrimination

Single Parents Deserve an Education!

Tell your story, listen to ours, show your support
Attend a Media Conference/Community Forum
Monday, 25th June 10.30am
Kim Beazley Lecture Theatre, Murdoch University (South Street Campus) 

With Special Guests:
Rachel Siewart (Greens Senator)
Louise Pratt (Labor MLC) 
Jock Ferguson (AMWU State Secretary)
Pendo Mwaiteleke (Lecturer at Curtin University and Women's Chair of FECCA)
Clare Middlemas (Murdoch Women's Officer)
Gerry Georgatos (Manager of Murdoch Guild and Students Without Borders) 


For 10 years the government provided JET (Jobs, Education and Training) to single parents so they could go back to study and get retrained. JET provided childcare assistance to single parents for the hours they were studying, however last year the government abolished the JET assistance for parents studying courses longer than 12 months duration - this means parents attending university or undertaking most apprenticeships are no longer entitled to childcare assistance! Parents studying longer courses now pay over $100 a week for childcare, whereas with the JET assistance parents would only be paying $5-$10 a week. This means single parents are being pushed out of education because they simply cannot afford to cover the costs of childcare while they study. 

This law discriminates against parents seeking to re-educate themselves or acquire new skills, and traps many single parents and their children in a cycle of poverty. 

So attend the forum and join us in demanding that the government reinstate the JET scheme and give single parents and their children a fair go! 

For more event details contact:
Peta Millar (parism at iinet.net.au <mailto:parism at iinet.net.au> )
Clare Middlemas ( murdochwomensofficer at gmail.com <mailto:murdochwomensofficer at gmail.com> ) 

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