ABC hits the wall

CHILDCARE centre ABC Ferntree Gully Central will close its doors at the end of the month.
ABC Boronia Central has received a temporary reprieve. It will remain open until at least 31 March, but its future remains uncertain.
Receivers last month took control of ABC Learning. The company owns over 1000 childcare centres across Australia and is more than $1.6 billion in debt.
ABC Boronia Central and ABC Ferntree Gully Central were named among 132 Victorian centres facing closure on 26 November.
Last week it was announced that Ferntree Gully Central was one of 27 Victorian centres and 55 across Australia that would not reopen next year.
Receiver Chris Honey said children affected would be offered places at nearby ABC centres and, in some cases, at centres run by other providers.
Mr Honey conceded the situation was not perfect.
“However, we have sought to minimise the impact on families and consider it is the best outcome in the circumstances,” he said.
“We will work closely with parents to ensure their child’s new ABC centre is as close as possible to the previous location.”
Mr Honey said 80 per cent of staff from the closing centres could be reassigned to nearby centres.
Knox Council community services director Kerry Stubbings said the council was “closely monitoring the future operation of local ABC Learning Centres”.
“We are mindful of the pressure on local families to secure childcare places,” she said.
“The council’s centres are currently largely at capacity, but our centres welcome inquiries from any families seeking vacancies.”
The Federal Government pledged $34 million to keep 241 centres open, including Boronia Central, until 31 March.
Receivers hope they can be sold to other childcare providers.
At a press conference last week, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard refused to confirm whether or not the government would support the centres past that date.
“We’ve picked the period until 31 March because we believe that gives us sufficient time to provide the final clarity about what is happening with these centres,” she said.
Ferntree Gully West, Belgrave Heights and Boronia South centres were among 656 centres deemed financially viable and will remain open.
“Today we are in a much better position than we could have ever imagined just four weeks ago when we were first appointed receivers and managers,” Mr Honey said.
“We can now shift our focus to transitioning the new ABC Learning Group business out of receivership in 2009.”
Parents can find updates at www.mchild.gov.au or www.childcare.com.au.