About 40 people rallied in the Coburg mall in Melbourne on Saturday December 6 for government intervention to save ABC childcare centres.
The speakers were Paul Slape, National Secretary of the Australian Services Union, Cr Toby Archer (Greens) and Chris Breen for Solidarity. Carlo Carlo, the local state Labor MP, promised to come but didn’t show. Daniella Olea, Solidarity and a former childcare worker, chaired.
There was a good mix of local lefties, parents with kids and childcare workers. All the speakers talked about the failure of the market and the need for public ownership/control of childcare to go along with public money.
It gave a taste of what would be possible if the unions, Greens and Labor left called significant action.