Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to have the chance to put some questions about early childhood education. As I go around my electorate, I'm constantly impressed and amazed with the quality and the hope filled, patient way that early childhood educators serve each and every child in their care. Millions of children and their families benefit each week from the high-quality child care provided in this country. In 2020, the work they quietly do every year has deservedly received more attention. We've been made more aware of the fact that we just can't do it without them.

During the early days of the pandemic the sector adapted at incredible speed. Centres introduced new hygiene practices to try to keep their children and staff safe. Many faced uncertainty about their staffing, with high numbers of temporary visa holders working in the sector returning to their home country. For most sectors there was also an instant loss of income, with families pulling their children out of care when they lost jobs or moved to working from home. Eighty per cent of the centre based day care and outside hours school care services experienced a significant decline in attendance, losing at least 20 per cent of their children in those initial weeks. Thirty-one per cent of services had a decrease of over 50 per cent of attendees. With that loss came a crippling loss in income too. I commend the early childhood educators in my electorate for the incredible way they rose to the challenge we're facing, particularly in that early phase when their own health and financial security was not clear.

UnitingCare Galston Early Learning Centre is one example of an outstanding service in my electorate whose response to COVID has been exemplary. With a board led by the Reverend Geoff Smith, from the Galston Uniting Church, the centre is managed by the outstanding and much loved Dani Balmer. I quickly learnt how well-loved Dani and her team are in our community. Families from all walks of life contacted me to let me know that the centre was in a challenging position and needed help. I was pleased to visit the centre a few months ago and see for myself why the UnitingCare Galston Early Learning Centre is so well loved. The welcoming smiles on the faces of the staff and the happiness of all the children didn't falter despite the enormous challenges they've been dealing with. As one parent said to me, 'I just don't know how they do it.'

Another successful private provider in my electorate is Kindalin Early Childhood Learning Centres, run by Mark and Alison Wharton. They're grateful for the support of the federal government for the seven centres they run in the Hills area. While they're grateful for the support of the federal government, they want the New South Wales government to listen more to their concerns, particularly around excess regulation, in a year that's already been such a struggle for so many in the sector.

These are just two examples of the hundreds of great providers operating in my electorate. At last count, there were 9,000 children in my electorate who attended child care and another 2,000 attending preschool. Across Australia, over 1.4 million children and their families benefit from child care and preschool. They are the reason the Morrison government's relief package was so important. The package allocated $1.9 billion to support childcare services, making the provision of child care effectively free to families during the COVID-19 pandemic from 6 April to 12 July. This, combined with JobKeeper, helped services retain their staff and helped them keep their doors open. That was so important to so many of those services.

The childcare system that we have took years to design and finesse, and yet the minister had the enormous task of building a new system, for a completely new environment, in a matter of days. I commend Minister Tehan for his outstanding work and for the actions he took to ensure that the sector could carry on. We'd be in a very different place as a country if it were not for that quick work.

Kelly and Patrick Tunny, constituents who operate a childcare service, expressed what a relief that support was for them. They said:

We have managed to keep our doors open through this crisis which has meant some of our families, including nurses, teachers and supermarket workers have been able to keep working.

The government should be applauded for their commitment to early childhood education and care and small businesses through this difficult time.

As the relief package was implemented, the Morrison government also listened and plugged gaps and made adjustments to help centres keep their lights on and their doors open to children. Supplementary payments were made for services that were in unusual circumstances, with extra high demand, and therefore needed more support. During April and May, supplementary payments were further extended to support childcare operators who were not able to support their staff through JobKeeper. These extra adjustments were key to Galston Early Learning Centre and many others like them. One couple wrote to me after those adjustments, saying:

We were all relieved when the centre was informed about the payments that would enable the centre to stay open and the staff to remain employed. The parents recently surprised the staff with a thank you of flowers, gifts and speeches to pay tribute to the sacrifices they made to keep the centre running.

We're now in another transition, as we look towards returning towards a more sustainable system as we move on from the early stages of the pandemic and the crisis it presented. My question to the minister is: can the minister explain how the government's record funding for child care will allow families to balance work and parental responsibilities going forward?

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