Another day, another High-Five to Canberra.

I can’t quite believe I just typed that sentence.

Kevin Rudd has raised the idea of a one-stop centre that would provide childcare, preschool and health care services for every Australian child under 12. The response from professionals in all parts of the childcare and child health services industries has been resoundingly positive.

Can you remember a time when this kind of issue was top of mind for our Prime Minister? All I can ever remember is John Howard knocking on the head any ideas about maternity leave and childcare provisions. He always seemed to rubbish the idea of working families and particularly working mothers. I always thought this was because it wasn’t in his realm of life experience. His mother never worked. His wife never worked. While he was PM, he never had grandchildren. So he never was exposed to the daily, weekly, yearly frustration, stress and anxiety faced by working families. It simply wasn’t in his world and it wasn’t reflected in his governments’ policies.

Kevin Rudd is a far younger man whose wife has worked outside the home while their children have been growing up. He’s still got young kids. He and Therese are still facing those issues so he GETS IT. I have this feeling most days and it’s most strange. A Prime Minister who GETS IT.

Fancy that.

Also today, Rudd’s Parliamentary Secretary for Childcare, Maxine McKew, has pointed out there’s a gaping gap between the school year and the working year and it’s causing big problems for millions of Australian families. Ya-hoooo! Finally, someone in power has noticed this disparity! Working parents get 4 weeks annual leave but school children get approximately 12 – 18 weeks depending what school they attend

According to The Australian:

MAXINE McKew wants to overhaul school holidays by having the nation’s classrooms open for business to provide vacation care and take the pressure off working parents.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Childcare, charged by Kevin Rudd with reforming early childhood services, said today she wanted to spark a national debate on better matching work and school or childcare holidays.

She floated two possible options: adjusting the school or work holiday timetable; and opening more schools for vacation care.

Ms McKew also called for new thinking on part-time workers, complaining too many employers relegated women to the mummy-track if they did not work full-time and “treated them differently’’.

High-Five Maxine. Hi-Five Kevin.