Kerre Woodham: What kind of bribe would you be happy to accept?

And thus, the bribes begin. 

That's the good thing about being in government in the lead up to an election - you can actually do stuff.  Give stuff away.  The opposition can only promise. You can only imagine what the opposition will give you. Labour will be readying itself for a great big lolly scramble in the lead up to the election, as the polls show Labour slipping away, threatening to consign this government to the history books.

So you can bet your bippy that the bribes and the giveaways will amp up. Long way to go, long way to go till the next election, but you can never take polls for granted. Winston Peters was right about that.

But as the polls - and Labour does its own internal polls as well, so they’re very aware that people are grumpy. And people are grumpy because everything costs more, it’s been a tough couple of years, there’s numerous reasons why we’re all grumpy.  And some very good reasons why we can blame this government. So they will want to promise, give away, cajole, entice, and bribe voters back to the vault.

Post the Labour party conference over the weekend, the Prime Minister announced Working For Families would see an increase of an extra nine dollars for the oldest child, which would buy you a jar of marmite. A couple of boxes of Weetbix. It’ll help! Every little bit will at the moment.

And also an expansion to childcare subsidies.  As of April next year, people with incomes up to 109 thousand and 96 dollars will be eligible for childcare assistance subsidies.  The PM is hoping, A) to get votes, but B) that this will also make it viable for the child carers, women primarily, who are home with children to go back to work to help ease labour shortages. 

Will it? Will the extra assistance make it worthwhile to go back to work?

I also would have thought too that given the damning report on Early Childhood Education that came out earlier this year, it would’ve been better to put more money into the sector rather than to the pockets of parents, although I guess there are no votes in that. 

But remember the damning report that came out earlier this year basically calling a lot of the Early Childhood Care ‘child farms,’ that Early Childhood Education is a train wreck, that it’s a sector heading backwards, that things have gone downhill. I would’ve thought to have put the money into the sector itself.

It’s something Chris Hipkins says is a passion of his, and that much of the criticism aimed at staffing ratios and pay in the for-profit part of the sector - which grew massively under National and is now embedded. He says would take multiple budgets to fix. But he’s had multiple budgets. He’s had five. And that would’ve helped if there’d been a focus on the sector itself.

Given that it’s a passion of Ardern’s, and given that it’s a passion of Hipkins’, you would’ve thought it would’ve got a bit better.

But it appears not.

So, given that. If women have the choice. Mostly women, predominantly women, but some men. If you had the choice of being able to stay home, and educate your children, take them to child play centres as  opposed to childcare centres. You would wouldn’t you? Given the damning report on so many, and also given how difficult it is to find a place. They might not be ideal, according to this report, but most parents need them. Because you need two incomes for most families.

There are some very, very good early childhood centres out there. Very good. And a lot of them are struggling. And if you had the choice you’d stay home wouldn’t you?

I would love to hear from those of you who have experience of early childhood centres, who would value this assistance that the prime minister has promised, that the government has promised. Those of you that have chosen not to send children to early childhood centres, what was the reason for doing that?

And, I’d love to hear too, seeing as we’re on the giveaways, seeing as we’re on the bribes, seeing as we’ve got a good ten months on the giveaways: what would make a difference for you?

I can imagine for families, the assistance for early childhood education would be a great help, raising the threshold to 109 thousand would be a great help. What would help you?

What would make a difference in your life?

What kind of bribe would you be happy to accept?

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