Australia's Turnbull Wants Limits to ABC Bailout, Says Herald

By Shani Raja

Nov. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Australian Federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull said taxpayers shouldn't be expected to keep bailing out troubled childcare operator ABC Learning Centres Ltd., the Sydney Morning Herald reported on its Web Site today.

Turnbull was concerned about the ``level,'' ``tenure,'' and ``extent'' of the government's support to the ailing business, the Herald reported, citing comments made to reporters in Canberra. The opposition leader said the government didn't act quickly enough to stem the crisis.

ABC Learning, which looks after one in three Australian children in daycare at almost 1,100 centers, owes the country's four biggest banks A$762 million ($507 million). The government pledged yesterday as much as A$22 million to keep the business running until the end of the year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net.