Playcentre families, upset by last week's Budget, have been taking their fight to the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern.
Over the weekend, many Playcentre mothers have expressed their anger on Ardern's Facebook page.
They say funding they received in the Budget is insulting, and it puts about 100 centres at risk of closure.
Playcentre educates more than 7 percent of New Zealand's pre-schoolers, yet receives less than 1 percent of the Government's funding for the early childhood education sector.
There are more than 420 playcentres in the country, with about a third serving rural areas. Its national body, Playcentre Aotearoa, said it is those centres that are the most vulnerable.
General manager Sean McKinley said the Budget has given Playcentre a total increase of $3.1 million over four years.
"The $3.1 million we have received amounts to approximately $675,000 a year for our organisation, or $1685 per centre, per year.
"We appreciate the new funding, but it comes after a long period of underfunding in which we received only a 3.1 percent total increase in funding over seven years."
McKinley said if Playcentre is to remain viable under its current funding, services will have to be cut.
"This will involve making staff redundant, decreasing support for our volunteer workforce and, most likely, closing centres that we can no longer afford to subsidise in high need areas of the country.
"Families are feeling outraged by what they see as a lack of good faith on the part of the government."
He said the movement plays an enormous role in the lives of tamariki, whānau and communities, and parents are prepared to fight for its survival.
RNZ
