Sally Sitou (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Of all the many moments that stood out after the 2022 election, there was one that stood out in particular—one that signified what the change of government really meant for Australia. The new Minister for Education, Jason Clare, returned to his primary school in south-west Sydney to visit his former primary school teacher, Cathy Fry. It was clearly an emotional moment for Mrs Fry and for Minister Clare, and, watching that video, it was an emotional moment for me too.

Like Minister Clare, I grew up in south-west Sydney. I too got a good education at public schools: Canley Vale Public School and Sefton High School. I was taught by dedicated teachers who extended my lessons beyond the textbooks. They made me curious about the world and made me think about my role in society. In Minister Clare, and the Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Youth, Anne Aly, we have two fierce advocates of the benefits of education at every stage of development. Former prime minister Paul Keating said, 'Education provides the keys to the kingdom.' It was true when he made that statement more than three decades ago and it will be even more true in the future. Consider this. Over the next 10 years, more than nine out of 10 new jobs expected to be created will require post-secondary qualifications. For the individual, for our society and for our economy, education is the key to unlocking this nation's potential.

We on this side of the House understand this. But understanding that isn't enough. We need vision, we need heart and we also need a plan. This government has been implementing reforms to create the better education systems that we all need. For the first time, we have a federal government that recognises the importance of education throughout someone's life, including the critical education that happens soon after birth. We have made early education more affordable. It was a key commitment in the 2022 election and it's making a difference, with an 11 per cent average reduction in out-of-pocket expenses. If the Albanese Labor government hadn't implemented this change, out-of-pocket costs for families would have increased by an average of six per cent.

Anyone who has a child in child care will tell you how incredible early childhood educators are. This is a government that is supporting them. We are providing early educators with the ability to negotiate for higher wages through multi-enterprise bargaining. We're also encouraging more people to choose a career in early education by providing fee-free TAFE courses.

As I have been meeting with teachers and principals at primary schools and high schools throughout my electorate, the key concern they have is around teacher shortage. As an example of how bad it got in 2022, in one week in one school in my electorate there were 43 classes that did haven't a dedicated teacher. That was 43 classes where students didn't get the education they needed. Things have improved since then, but teacher shortages remain for so many schools across the country. It's a problem that has been decades in the making. We are working to address it through our National Teacher Workforce Action Plan, aimed at enhancing the recruitment and retention of teachers as well as education quality. We're investing in additional university education places, a teacher workload reduction fund, professional development enhancements and scholarships aimed at encouraging diverse, high-achieving individuals into the teaching profession.

This week we got the final Universities Accord report, which sets out a road map over the next decade for how we can open up more opportunities for more people to get a tertiary qualification. The Minister for Education, Jason Clare, wants to see more Indigenous students, students from the bush and students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds succeed in this country. He knows the only way to do that is to ensure we reform our education system. It's a task I'm proud to support.

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