Mount Isa workforce impacted by closure of local daycare centre

St Paul's Lutheran Childcare Centre, owned by Lutheran Education Queensland, announced it would close its doors on November 30 due to "ongoing costs and recruitment pressures".

With a two year waitlist already impacting local daycares, the closure is expected to add pressure to the overwhelmed childcare system, with some families stating they cannot return to work because they cannot secure daycare for their children.

"Despite our best efforts, we have now exhausted all avenues to keep the centre open. We understand the impact this has on children, families and staff," director Ann-Marie Davis said.

Mother of two Michaela Wood who had one child in the centre and one on the waitlist said everything was uncertain, including if she was going to be able to return to work at the Mount Isa Hospital.

"The waitlist at other daycares just for the baby room is 80-100," Ms Wood said.

"I had plans to return to work full time and no I don't think I'll be able to and that is going to have significant financial impact on us.

"I know there are other mums at the centre who are going to have to resign from their jobs because there is no available daycare."

Ms Wood said the centre did not consult parents despite rumours circulating about the closure last year.

"I am pretty upset about it, I feel like the centre could have included the parents. I think they just wanted to fly in, drop the bomb, fly out and leave the local educators to cop the grunt of everyone's anger and frustration.

"I gave them the opportunity in November last year to tell me if there was any considerations or discussions around the centre closing, because I had heard it was closing, and they blatantly lied to me.

"I told them this was going to have significant impact on parents and if it was going to close parents needed time to get their kids onto wait lists, and they assured me it was never a discussion and I knew it was."

KAP leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter said the knock on affect would have a significant impact on the local economy but the decision had been looming over the centre for the last two years.

"It has been made perfectly clear to me the impact that a reduction of childcare has on businesses in Mount Isa, so it is a very serious threat to our functioning economy in terms of the availability of the local workforce," Mr Katter said.

"Mums don't have the option to put their kids into daycare and return to the workforce.

"I put a lot of time into keeping the centre running a couple of years ago and thanks to the good work of some people we kept it open for a few more years.

"I am working to try and come up with a solution to this issue, and I need to make special mention to Pastor Lauri Iso-Aho who has been working hard to keep that centre running for years."

Mr Katter said with a national staffing shortage impacting daycare facilities, better initiatives needed to be introduced to attract people to the industry and out west.

"I don't think there is any easier solution than incentivising and increasing the income to make it more attractive for the workers in that field. It is something that dad (Bob Katter) and I have discussed because there are heaps of other areas that are facing the same issue, like Hughenden is facing it with their only childcare at the moment.

"None of this is new and it has been confronted right across Australia, so it doesn't mean it should be accepted or not be addressed but they're big problems to fix, we are aware of the problem and working to find a solution."