Cassandra Fernando (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Holt is a wonderful electorate, where many move to the outskirts of Melbourne to pursue the Australian dream of owning a home and raising a family. This dream is fundamental to Australians and it is at the heart of our Labor government's priorities. Labor is the only party that truly supports families in suburbs like Hampton Park, Narre Warren South, Lynbrook, Lyndhurst, all of Cranbourne and all of Clyde.

Since day one, we have pursued policies that support new families, including our reforms to paid parental leave. It was first introduced by the Gillard Labor government, and we have now extended it from 20 to 26 weeks. We are also adding superannuation to paid parental leave to ensure that mothers who take time off from work to raise their children aren't left behind in retirement. Last year, we reduced the cost of childcare for 96 per cent of families, and now we are delivering a 15 per cent pay rise for every childcare worker across the nation. This is our way of saying thank you to all childcare workers for the effort you put in to raising our kids. This is why Labor governments are about putting families first.

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