Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's my pleasure to rise following that contribution from the shadow minister, the member for Moncrieff. I noticed that in her litany of complaints about this government she failed to mention pay rises, particularly in early education and child care, where she has responsibility. She failed to mention tax cuts, and she failed to mention lower fees for families for early education and child care, something that is absolutely critical for families in my electorate.

To see the shadow minister not mention those things in her litany is disappointing because, during the long months of the pandemic, I, along with colleagues, led by our now Prime Minister, spent hours planning for the reconstruction post the pandemic. A key part of the Australia we envisaged was one where wages would reflect the hard work and commitment of our workers. Nowhere was this more important than in the care economy, in aged care and in early education and child care. These workers were the heroes of the pandemic, working on the front lines to ensure looking after and caring for our youngest and oldest to support our communities. They showed up so that other essential workers could show up. They deserved more than our thanks. This week, the second part of this puzzle is complete, with early education and childcare educators announcing a 15 per cent pay rise for those workers, 10 per cent this year and five per cent next year. That is on top of three increases to the minimum wage and a 15 per cent pay rise for aged-care workers in this country, something that I am incredibly proud of.

I am also incredibly proud of the fee-free TAFE that is allowing people to be trained in these sectors. Since its introduction under this government, 500,000 Australians have enrolled in fee-free TAFE. This means that we can attract, train and retain workforces in our care economy and know that they are being paid and valued not just by this government but by the community more broadly. In a community like mine, with some of the highest numbers of zero- to four-year-olds in the country, this is critical. And I have just one further point to make in that space: this is good news for the small and family businesses running early education and child care in my community.

On 3 August, at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, we saw the Suncorp Super Netball Grand Final. The Adelaide Thunderbirds and the Melbourne Vixens put on a netball showcase. It was a grand final for the ages. A raucous Adelaide home crowd brought home the victorious Thunderbirds by two goals after an incredibly close and skilful display from both teams. The ball movement on display was scintillating. The shooting was incredibly accurate. The defensive strategies, deflections and intercepts saw the crowd on their feet in appreciation. I want to congratulate both teams. To victorious coach Tania Obst and captain Hannah Petty of the Adelaide Thunderbirds, for an incredible season and back-to-back flags, congratulations. To Vixens coaches Simone McKinnis and Di Honey and captain Kate Moloney, thank you for an amazingly successful season despite injury challenges along the way. You had an extraordinary achievement in that grand final. You really brought the game to the Adelaide Thunderbirds.

As a Victorian, it was sad that we didn't win, but netball was the winner. Our sport is ultimately the winner after that grand final. To watch the traditional rivalry between Victoria and South Australia play out on the netball court was a wonderful experience that I know was shared by families across the country as they tuned in. We had a wonderful Suncorp Super Netball season in 2024, with all the thrills and all the spills of great netball. It is the best league in the world, brought together by the best Australia has to offer, joined by international competitors from across the globe. It's an extraordinary league and they put on quite a show week in, week out, but that grand final was something to see. Secretly, I think Simone McKinnis may have found the way that the Diamonds will continue to have the edge over the Jamaicans in that match. I hope so. I wish all of those selected for the Diamonds tryouts for the squad good luck in their preparations. We'll be seeing the Diamonds on court in New Zealand and Australia before this year is out.

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