Lack of child care creates skills shortages as bush mums leave work

In the remote Queensland town of Glenmorgan, mothers like Emily McPhee are finding themselves isolated and unable to return to work due to a severe lack of childcare options.

McPhee, a former teacher and assistant principal, has been unable to work for the past few years, caring for her three young daughters on their cattle station. The nearest daycare is 65 kilometers away in Surat, and Glenmorgan's own daycare closed in March. This situation is not unique to McPhee; other mothers in fields like finance and agribusiness have also had to step away from their careers.

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It's extremely isolating and lonely. I remember looking out and waiting for Will's lights to be coming down the driveway, knowing that I'd see another adult.

The area, nicknamed "End of the Line," is experiencing a baby boom, with nearly 60 children under 12, most under five. This demographic shift, coupled with the closure of the local daycare, has intensified the childcare desert problem. The lack of facilities forces women to choose between their careers and caring for their children, leading to a significant loss of skilled professionals in the region.

Majella Fitzsimmons, president of Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland, highlights the broader consequences. "If you don't have early childhood, you can't have the teachers go to school, you can't have the doctor work, you can't have the greengrocer working," she explained. The absence of accessible childcare creates a skills drain that affects the viability of small communities, impacting everything from essential services to local businesses.

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If you don't have early childhood, you can't have the teachers go to school, you can't have the doctor work, you can't have the greengrocer working. Society still needs to continue. We can't do that if we don't have childhood places for children.