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Young families in Quilpie are urgently seeking a seasoned operator to take over childcare services after the sudden announcement of a daycare center closure at the end of December. This unexpected decision has put the future of essential workers in jeopardy, as many may be forced to leave the area without adequate childcare.
Quilpie, a small town with a close-knit community of nearly 1,000 residents, lies approximately 1,000 kilometers west of Brisbane. The closure of the childcare facility could significantly impact the town’s workforce and disrupt daily life for many families.
Jenna Nunn, a mother of four and the director of nursing at the local hospital, is one of the many parents left in a difficult position. With her one-year-old in need of care, she is scheduled to return to work in January and is now facing a childcare crisis.
“It’s so heartbreaking and mind-boggling that the center has decided to pull out,” Nunn expressed. “What are we supposed to do now?” she questioned, reflecting the concerns of many in the community.
“It is so heartbreaking, it is just mind boggling that they’ve pulled out, what do we do now?”
Council and the community were caught off guard when privately-owned operator Mulga Mates only notified them this month.Â
“They were just highlighting that they were having staff retention issues,” Quilpie Shire Council mayor Ben Hall said.
“It isn’t a council-run facility, so we are at arm’s length from it, so it came as a surprise to us.”
The announcement has sparked fears the closure could trigger an exodus of essential workers from the regional town, a situation which Nunn said would be “catastrophic”.
“I was talking to one mum the other day, had to go back to work for three months and now she’s had to stop working because there’s no daycare options,” she said.
Hall estimates that 42 per cent of the community’s workforce is made up of working women.
“If we take 42 per cent of those people out of our workforce, it’s going to be devastating,” he said.
Mums in the community want a city lifeline if a new provider can’t be sourced.
The Department of Education will explore introducing a state-delivered kindergarten program.
The process to find a new childcare provider to take over the existing licence is underway.
“There have been a few providers contacted, to date we have no takers,” Hall said.
“We anticipate this may take upwards of 90 days to actually get resolved.”
The small community is now sending out an urgent SOS.
“I’m begging someone to please come forward and help us out,” Nunn said.
”Please reach out to the council, we will roll out the red carpet to help in any way we can,” Hall said.