The Prime Minister should waive the childcare gap payment for all medical professionals with young children as an incentive to continue their crucial work as the nation opens up from COVID, local Federal MP Libby Coker said today (15 Oct).

We need to be encouraging more health professionals with young families to be at work helping with the COVID fight. Instead, the Morrison-Joyce Government is offering a disincentive to their returning or continuing to work by withdrawing the childcare gap payment, Ms Coker said.

Our tired doctors, nurses and ambos deserve encouragement to do their lifesaving work in the midst of the COVID surge as we move to opening up.

Today Ive written to the Prime Minister calling on him to waive the childcare gap for health professionals. Im seeing first-hand agonising decisions being forced on health care professionals with young children.

Im aware of working nurses, some of them single mums, who are struggling to meet childcare costs and questioning the worth of working, especially with the extra demands during COVID.

I also know of others who would consider coming back to the health workforce to help during COIVD if their childcare gap fee was waived.

The nations hospitals, medical centres and ambulance services need every single medical professional they can get right now. We rely heavily on professionals like them to keep the health system working.

Lets make it at least financially easier for our amazing health professionals to continue working, or return to work, without the worry of childcare costs. We need to be removing barriers, not adding to them.

Remove the childcare gap disincentive for our health care heroes Mr Morrison.