Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In Yass earlier this week, I called in on the Goodstart Early Learning centre with my friends Anthony Albanese and Amanda Rishworth. We had to be mindful of not getting in the way of busy mums and dads rushing in to drop kids off before getting out the door and on to work. It's a routine that many in this House and outside this chamber will be familiar with. Those parents and what they do in their day are in the engine room of their local community and economy. They are able to get on with creating a livelihood and building prosperity knowing that their kids are learning, laughing and being loved by professional educators and carers. But, before the busyness of that rush hour, those parents will have had to make some choices—choices that aren't always in the best interests of their family, themselves, their community or the wider economy. It's a dilemma and discussion that my husband, Brad, and I have had—and a special shout-out to Ruby, Max and Jack. I'll be home on Friday. Please be good for your dad; it's his birthday!

When I had my first child I knew I would have to go back to work, and I made inquiries at three separate childcare centres in my area. I was lucky enough to get Ruby a place in one. The first day of drop-off is incredibly hard, and we even witnessed it when we were at Goodstart in Yass on Monday. The childcare centres, the carers and their educators become part of your family. They educate your most prized possessions while you're at work. I want to thank Little Nippers Early Learning and Childcare in Merimbula and all the educators who have been part of my family's life. My youngest, Jack, is at school this year, but I've been through nine years, with three different kids, and I want to say a huge thankyou to everyone there.

Many families, mine included, have to discuss whether they can afford child care and how many days they can go back to work without simply working to pay childcare bills. In our family I became the secondary income earner and was able to enter paid work for two or three days. I also ran a small family business. I did the books for our business. That's unpaid work. If I worked any additional hours, we hit the cap and full fees kicked in, which we simply could not afford at the time. It's a reality that many couples will identify with and a situation that, more often than not, stops women from engaging in full-time work or trying to grow a small business.

The system should empower people and communities, not limit or restrict choice and potential. In regional communities, small businesses are our backbone. We need to support women and families to grow their businesses and grow their employment potential. Right now, the system under this government is a handbrake on livelihoods, a handbrake on small business and a handbrake on regional economies at a time when we need to reshape our future post-drought, post-bushfire and post-COVID-19. This will change when Anthony Albanese is Prime Minister and Amanda Rishworth is the early childhood education minister. Bring it on.

The Morrison system has failed parents. It's created a financial disincentive for many second wage earners to work full time or to grow their business. An Albanese Labor government will fix Australia's broken childcare system, and no family will be worse off. It's not a welfare measure; it's about making sure more women are participating in work, growing their regional businesses and unlocking their economic potential.

This week, in Yass, the Labor team spoke of early education as being a part of every child's life. In the same way that kids go to school when they're five or six, all children should have access to early education—when the foundations of their future selves are laid down in their heart, in their head and in their hands. As Mr Albanese said on Monday, 'The human brain develops 90 per cent of its capacity in those first five years of life,' and yet childcare fees for parents in Tumut and Tumbarumba have gone up by 12.3 per cent in the last 12 months. They haven't reduced; they've gone up. They've gone up in regional communities, and they've gone up in our metropolitan communities. If you can't afford it, your kids simply miss out. If you want to work more, you're penalised. This is the reality of how this government's childcare system works, or, more to the point, how it doesn't work. When they had the chance to fix it and deliver renewal and recovery in the recent budget, they failed to see the opportunity.

If this government is serious about creating jobs, create jobs in child care. Use child care to unlock jobs. Use child care to empower women to grow their business. Please start in Cooma. Even before Snowy 2.0, mums and dads in Cooma were struggling to access childcare places that they needed. The potential of the care economy in Australia's economy is clear for all to see, and an Albanese government will make that happen.

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