Mum welcomes education relief

WITH five children, four of them school aged, Miriam Cohen can list the expenses she and her husband pay each year on top of private school fees.

“Uniforms, school bags, subject levies, books, stationery,” she reels off. She estimates that each of those expenses is in excess of $500, and that is before school shoes, sports shoes and camp fees for her older children, who attend Yeshivah College and Beth Rivkah Ladies College in Melbourne.

The way she affords it is by saving up over the summer.

“I’m a teacher so I get school holidays off, six weeks of not paying for a babysitter helps,” she said.

While she did not endorse either party, Cohen did say every dollar helps.

Last week, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott announced a plan to provide additional help for families with school-aged children.

If the Coalition wins government, it will increase the education tax rebate for eligible families to $500 per year per primary school child and $1000 per year per secondary school child.

It has also increased the number of items that can be claimed under the rebate to include school fees, school camp charges, special education costs for children with disabilities and tutoring.

Earlier in the campaign, the Labor Party expanded the program to include school uniforms, but capped its rebate at $390 for primary school students and $779 for secondary. Shadow Minister for Education Chris Pyne said, “Our policy will reduce cost of living pressures on families.”

Education Minister Simon Crean, however, argued this week that the Coalition had failed to cost its program correctly.

“It will disappoint parents when they find out that this is a proposal that’s not costed,” he said.

NAOMI LEVIN