Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I, too, would like to speak on the matter and actually speak to the link between the wages for early childhood educators and the quality of care children receive. So far in the two speeches we have heard from the government side we have heard that the care and they really value and respect the educators. Yet we have heard no commitment on funding to increase their wages. Before the election the coalition said it would honour funds contracted to the Early Years Quality Fund, but today they are walking away from it.

The industry is in crisis. A third of the workforce is leaving every year. That is roughly 180 workers a week. That is why the former Labor government worked with industry to set up the early childhood education fund to boost the wages. This is creating a skills crisis within the industry. Quality educators are leaving and they are leaving for very real reasons. When you speak to them, particularly the ones in my electorate, it is not because they do not love the work; it is simply because they cannot afford to work in the industry any more. Take, for example, a couple of the early childhood educators that work in Castlemaine who I spoke to just a few weeks ago. To supplement their income—the low wages that they earn in child care—they are taking on casual work in the KR Castlemaine bacon factory. They are doing this simply to supplement their income because their wages in child care are too low.

Just in case those opposite are unaware of what an early childhood educator currently earns under the award, it is as little as $19 an hour, yet these are skilled workers. These are professionals with a qualification, and their wages simply do not match those in other industries that have similar certificates and qualifications. I think it is a very good thing that the sector chooses to educate itself and that they are meeting the needs of the quality framework. This is great to see for our youngest children, our youngest Australians—that they are getting the quality education and care that they deserve. All the research suggests that the years that most matter to children's development is zero to five. That is why we need a well-trained, qualified education resource helping children develop.

The other example I wish to share with you today, Deputy Speaker, is that of those who work at Brett TAFE, another centre which is also seeking extra funding. In this centre there are a number of young women who work that have their qualifications and are quite proud to be educators, yet they talk to me of stress about buying their first home—because their wages are so low, they are concerned about entering into mortgages. This is the problem with paying professionals low wages. We need a government to partner with industry so that the cost is not passed on to parents.

It was mentioned previously that perhaps it should be pursued through Fair Work, a move that I support. However, if Fair Work awards a wage increase and there is no government funding on the table then that wage increase will be covered by parents. This is why it is time for government to partner. This is why the previous government established the fund of $300 million to kick-start government investment. It is time for governments to start investing in the wages of our early childhood educators, to partner with the providers and to partner with parents in order to give them the security that their kids will receive the best education.

Productivity Commission, which we referred before, has already made the recommendation for wages to grow. For the sector to grow, wages need to increase. To stop people leaving, we need to increase the wages. It comes down to a matter of what is right. If you have a certificate III, if you have a qualification, if you are a professional, you should be paid a professional wage. That is why the previous government moved to create the quality fund and what this new government should not walk away from the commitment and continue to provide this money that is desperately needed for a sector those losing—I will state is again—180 qualified educators a week because of their low wages.

See this speech in context