00:02A family at breaking point.
00:06This farm on the Queensland New South Wales border is destocking due to drought.
00:13But a lack of childcare means off-farm income has also dried up.
00:18I did my nursing to safeguard us against droughts and things like that,
00:23but now I try childcare so I can't even work.
00:25She's been desperately searching for a nanny through the government's in-home care program since January last year,
00:32while also grieving for her husband, who died in October.
00:37The nearby border town of Gundawindi is also a childcare desert.
00:42At Lucy Walker's pharmacy, rostering her 20 female staff is a constant juggle.
00:47There is sometimes when we've got lots of staff and sometimes when we don't.
00:51Gundawindi has three childcare centres for the town's 6,000 residents.
00:55Many parents report a two-year wait and say when they are offered a position, it often isn't for enough
01:01days.
01:02I absolutely would say it's a crisis.
01:04The government's in-home care scheme was touted as a solution.
01:08A regulated and government-subsidised program provided by a sole business provider.
01:14But advocates say they need to upskill people and reduce red tape to attract suitable workers.
01:20We need to stop treating it as a last resort option because that is how it's framed policy-wise at
01:25the moment.
01:26Back in Bonshaw, a heartbreaking decision needs to be made,
01:30whether to expand their family using frozen embryos.
01:34I could just go and have them, but that's completely irresponsible if I can't provide for them.
01:39In the meantime, she just has to get on with the job.
01:42The job is to get on with the job.
01:43The job is to get on with the job.
01:44The job is to get on with the job.
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