Last Updated: January 29, 2012
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CHILDCARE

On this page: Yvonne Smith
See also: Womens Lib/Feminism

Yvonne Smith

- I had someone to look after my youngest who was only three, but eventually I was able to get him accepted into the creche at Footscray. It was a wonderful creche - the way they all ought to be today. It was a government establishment and provided full time care for all pre-school age children.

The only bad thing about it was that it closed at 5 p.m. and if you didn't get there to pick up the children they were taken to the police station! This was barbaric but otherwise, well, they had mothercraft nurses and I knew my child, an asthmatic, was looked after properly.

This was when I became aware of how terribly important childcare was to so many women, whether they were in the paid workforce or not.

It always seemed to be at the last minute at work when the doctor asked me to do something so I was five or ten minutes late getting away. It was a real nightmare, trying to pick up the kids, get home, get tea and fall into bed. Anyone who talks harshly about single mothers receives no sympathy from me. You would think, by the way some people speak, it is a bed of roses, that you are a single mother by choice just to get the pension!

- ... While I was still working at the ARU there was a UAW deputation to Harold Holt, treasurer at the time. I was so busy, I didn't have time to prepare anything. I rushed in at the last minute and someone nudged me and whispered 'say something'. So I did.

I remember speaking quite fervently about the need for childcare services, particularly for working mothers (this was part of a national 'mother and child' campaign) We didn't get anywhere, but it may have sown some seeds.

That was my first active foray into the national child care area. Later I was involved with forming a kindergarten committee and I had also been a member of the Sunshine Child Care Committee of which Win Graham had been a founder.