Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Tangney for his question and for his passionate advocacy of cheaper child care to benefit his electorate. What we know is that cheaper child care will be good for productivity. It'll be good for workforce participation and good for population growth. It's good for families. It takes pressure off family budgets. It is also, of course, good for children, given that 90 per cent of human brain development occurs in the first five years.

Last week, I had the opportunity, with the member for Macnamara, of visiting the Avenue Children's Centre & Kindergarten. There I met Louise Hird with her son Jack and Laura Hill with her son Levi. It was Halloween. The kids were dressed up as superheroes. They were all very keen. What the parents there were keen on was the fact that they now have a government that recognises the importance of early learning. The workers—the educators—were keen as well, about the fact that they now have a government that respects the work that they do.

The member for Boothby and I then went on to Goodstart Early Learning in Somerton Park. The kids there were growing their very own vegetable garden, learning about food nutrition.

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