Tracey Roberts (Pearce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today as a proud member of a government that is committed to cheaper child care and better support for our working families. In my electorate of Pearce in Western Australia, child care is a major issue for our parents and carers.

While the opposition may seek to politicise the cost-of-living challenges, families in my electorate are turning up every day to try and pay their bills. Many in our community are doing it tough and the Albanese Labor government is doing all it can to support them. We live in an area which is fast growing. It's an outer metropolitan growth area. Our median age is 32. Eight babies a day are born to community members and we have a multicultural community. Part of the support that's needed comes from the cheaper childcare package. Seven thousand six hundred families back home have now had the cost of their child care cut, meaning more money in their pockets and the ability to work more hours if they choose to. A family in Pearce on a combined income of $120,000 will now be saving around $1,700 a year under Labor's cheaper childcare policy. This is a much-needed boost to families' budgets and it is very much appreciated.

But the impact of this policy extends far beyond money. We know that early childhood education has a huge impact on the development of our young ones. Early childhood education lays the foundations for future learning and also for the health and wellbeing of our children. Children who participate in quality early learning all go on to have better educational outcomes, and this has been clearly demonstrated. You can see the enjoyment of children when they're playing, when they're learning, when they're grappling with tying their shoelaces and when they're learning how to care and share with their fellow classmates.

What we also know is that women, who often undertake primary caring responsibilities, greatly benefit from cheaper child care. Whether you're a chief executive officer, a nurse, a teacher, an office worker or a business owner, cheaper child care provides greater incentive and support for getting back into the workforce. I've long said: when women are fully engaged in the workforce, change for the better happens. I know many mums, many aunties and many grandmothers who do an amazing job juggling their caring responsibilities and work. I'm proud to be part of a government that is putting children and women front and centre of government policy.

In relation to the accessibility of child care and the expansion of a childcare workforce, we know that this is an issue. Educators do important and highly skilled work preparing our children for school and laying the foundations for learning. After 10 long years of neglect, the early education and childcare sector needs a lot of support. The Albanese Labor government is working with the sector to continue to develop recruitment and retainment of a workforce. That's why this government passed its secure jobs, better pay bill and it is why we are delivering a 4.6 per cent pay rise for nearly 113,000 early childhood educators across the country.

Alongside this the Albanese Labor government is also delivering more funded university places for educators. We are delivering fee-free TAFE because after 10 years of neglect we cannot simply wish a workforce into being. We need to train, we need to attract and we need to develop one. I want to thank the Minister for Education, as well as my fellow Western Australian Anne Aly, the Minister for Early Childhood Education, for their tireless work on this front, constantly engaging, constantly communicating and constantly being across the issues that many families face.

On the issue of a long-term strategy—our early childhood education workforce—this government is accelerating the implementation of the National Children's Education and Care Workforce Strategy. So, while the opposition may like to talk about child care, women and the cost of living, this government is acting on it. Actions speak louder than words.

We have a strong plan in place for our early childhood education sector, a plan that will help support many families in my community of Pearce and 1.2 million families right around the country. Unlike our predecessors, this government is not going to waste a day delivering for our families, and we are delivering.

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