Child-care centres close in Victoria
Victorian Trades Hall Council and trade unions have launched a campaign to halt more closures of child-care centres, after a union study found 57 centres, most of them non-profit centres, have closed since January 1998. The closures are due to federal government cuts in funding. The survey showed that, of children withdrawn from the centres, 93% were because of the increased cost. Costs have increased an average $32 per week per child since 1996.