Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I might just ask the member why the minister cut the subsidy for vulnerable children from 24-hours to 12 hours? Truly, a government that cares!

I once had the opportunity to interview the great Barry Jones. Apart from being a quiz champion, he's renowned for being one of Australia's great thinkers. I asked Barry what the meaning of life was. His response has stayed with me. He said, 'Well, apart from reproduction for the continuation of the species,' something that Barry would say, 'the other meaningful thing that you can do is to contribute.' He then reflected that, never having had children himself, and therefore not fulfilling what he considered to be an important aspect of humanity, he felt beholden to fulfil the latter part, and that was to contribute.

It occurs to me that this extraordinary insight has perfect application in Labor's childcare policy. Not only does it support the continuation of our species through the encouragement of reproduction and the subsequent care and education of said offspring but it fulfils the second principle of the meaning of life, and that is to make a contribution. This policy allows parents to work in our society and contribute to the economic wellbeing of our country and, importantly, of their family. My office has been contacted numerous times by parents who are struggling with the pandemic and the pressures of finding affordable child care. Women have been most impacted in the Hunter. The highest percentage of people found to be unemployed in the last six months have been women. Also, women can't get back to work.

Take Kristie, for example, a typical mum in my electorate, who contacted me in October about the increase in fees for 2021. Kristie wants to be able to contribute, both as a mother and as a provider. She should be able to work and improve her own family's situation without being penalised. Or take Charlene, Kerryn or Chiara, who have all contacted me about the impact of childcare costs. Kerryn has spoken with my office on multiple occasions during the height of the pandemic about the positive impacts that free child care were having on her family. Why wouldn't this government want to sustain these benefits? It should never have taken a pandemic and industry pressure for this government to front up and help these families.

This is a really simple equation: when you invest in early education you see the rewards for a lifetime. Why wouldn't this government want to invest in the future of our children? We know childcare is a growing industry a with fantastic workforce. Why wouldn't this government want to invest in these jobs and the workforce of this vital industry?

Recently, I had the great pleasure of taking the leader of the Labor Party, Anthony Albanese, to Kurri Kurri preschool, my preschool that I started at in 1974. The staff at Kurri Kurri & District Preschool Kindergarten do an amazing job with the growing minds of my community.

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