Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I reckon they would be listening with interest in Gerringong, Nowra, Shellharbour, Ulladulla and Burrill at the moment to the member's contribution, putting forward this motion about childhood education and care educators. Yes, we want the best for those people who work in that sector. But two words that the member for Gilmore, a regional member, did not mention are 'accessibility' and 'availability'. One of the greatest concerns for parents and families in country areas is actually being able to have an early childhood learning centre and have that care provided in a regional setting. It's simply not good enough just to talk about wage rises for early childhood educators and mention all of those things without mentioning accessibility and availability. I know in my Riverina electorate we have a being void created by a childhood centre closing in Lockhart at the moment. I know even in Wagga Wagga it's difficult to get places for families.

I had a great conversation with Nicole Wishart recently. She is the director and nominated supervisor at Inspire Early Learning Centre on Kooringal Road. She wrote a lengthy letter to me and she said, 'When families are unenrolled, they suffer additional financial burdens due to increased costs associated with finding alternative care arrangements. This strain not only affects their financial stability but also impacts their ability to work and contribute to the economy. Furthermore, the lack of support services exacerbates workforce issues, creating a cycle of inefficiency and economic hardship.'

Now, I know Labor is out there addressing the wages and I am sure the member for Moncrieff will have more to say, because she understands very much our position and the position adopted by families right across this nation. What we are seeing, particularly in this area, is a lack of accessibility and availability. You very much don't hear that from those opposite, because they don't get the fact that there is a problem in those areas. If the member for Gilmore were to listen to her constituents, I am sure that's what they would say to her. It's accessibility and availability.

Yes, our childhood educators should be paid a fair day's work for a fair day's wage. There is no question about that. But it's about accessibility and availability in regional areas, which is the great concern. And why should our country families be disadvantaged? Why isn't the government doing more to help our regional families? It is because they don't care. In so many policy areas right across the board, we see every day of every week the fact that regional pleas and cries for services and amenities are just ignored. It's down to centres and placements. It's about Labor's lack of care for regional areas, and it's such a shame because families in regional centres are important too. During COVID and at any other given time, it is regional areas are leading the way through mining, through agriculture—

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