Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This bill is not only timely, or, arguably, well overdue, but critical for the future of our early childhood education sector and, by extension, the wellbeing of our society as a whole. This bill will provide much-needed wage support for early childhood education and care workers across the country. These professionals, who provide important education services and support to our younger citizens, have been underpaid, underappreciated and overworked for far too long. It's high time we address this injustice and recognise the value of their contribution not only to our children's development but also to our broader economy.

It's a truth universally acknowledged and often said in this place that caring for children is the most important job you can do. Early childhood education and care workers are at the forefront of shaping the next generation. Gross motor skills, fine motor skills, cognitive development, emotional regulation, socialisation—research consistently shows that the first five years of a child's life are critical to their cognitive, emotional, physical and social development. These early experiences lay the foundation for success in school and in life. When children are nurtured, cared for and educated by qualified professionals during this formative period, they are more likely to grow up to be productive, confident and engaged members of our society. Yet, despite the clear evidence of the importance of early childhood education, we continue to undervalue the work of those who dedicate their lives in this field. Early childhood educators, the majority women, are paid significantly less than other workers with equivalent qualifications, often struggling to make ends meet. It is unacceptable that the people who help raise and educate our children are forced to contend with financial insecurity.

Early childhood work is challenging but it's a rewarding career, and we want it to be a career of choice. We want graduates to choose to work with young children and to choose to put their skills to use to give these children the best possible start to their education and their future lives. We want them to stay in the sector knowing they have a long, satisfying and financially rewarding career ahead of them, not, as currently happens, to leave the sector because they cannot afford to support themselves and their families on the low wages. This bill seeks to right this wrong by creating a funding mechanism to support better wages for these essential workers. Decent wages are critical to reversing attrition and growing the workforce. But, more than that, this is vital to the sustainability of the sector. Early childhood education services have been delaying expansion plans, closing rooms, limiting enrolments and not expanding because they can't find qualified staff. This is impacting the availability of early childhood education and care for families across the country.

A couple of weeks ago the Productivity Commission released a report that said that building the workforce is the first step to increasing access to ECEC for families. The wage justice bill will help address significant workforce shortages by supporting the delivery of a wage increase of 15 per cent for eligible workers over two years. A typical early childhood educator will receive an additional $103 a week from December 2024, increasing to at least $155 a week from December 2025. A typical early childhood teacher will receive an additional $166 a week from December 2024, increasing to at least $249 a week from December 2025.

The wage justice bill also establishes terms and conditions of the ECEC worker retention payment grant, including a limit on fee increases that can be charged by providers. I know that the possibility of fee rises is a concern to parents and families, so I want to reiterate this point: the bill establishes a limit on fee increases. This will put downward pressure on fees, helping to make child care more affordable for more families.

The wage justice bill also encourages good faith bargaining and the making of enterprise agreements in the early childhood education and care sector. It will also help support the steps the government has already taken to make ECEC cheaper for Australian families. Paying ECEC workers fairly is a crucial step in charting the course to universal accessibility of early childhood education and care.

There are also significant economic reasons to support this bill. A strong, well-compensated early childhood education workforce contributes to the overall strength of the economy. By ensuring that parents have access to affordable, high-quality childcare, we enable more people to participate in the workforce, particularly women, who are often the primary caregivers.

When we invest in early childhood education, we are investing in workforce participation, productivity and economic growth. But, beyond economic factors, this bill is about fairness. Early childhood educators do not provide babysitting services. They are highly trained professionals who deliver complex, emotionally demanding and intellectually stimulating services. Their work is vital to the wellbeing of children who are, after all, the future of our country. When we here have retired, these children are the people who will be caring for us in the healthcare or aged-care sectors, building infrastructure, managing the banking system, growing our food, making export commodities and much more. It is in all of our interests that these children are well-educated, and it's time we recognised the important role of early childhood educators in the future of our country. You recognise important work through fair compensation.

It is also important to note that underpaid workers are more likely to leave the profession, contributing to high turnover rates and staff shortages. This instability undermines the quality of care provided to children and places additional stress on remaining workers. By increasing wages, we can help stabilise the workforce, reduce turnover and improve the overall quality of early childhood education and care services.

This bill also speaks to the issue of gender equality. As I mentioned earlier, the early childhood education workforce is overwhelmingly female, with women making up over 95 per cent of the sector. The low wages in this field are a reflection of the broader issue of gender based pay inequality, where work traditionally associated with women is undervalued and underpaid. Supporting wage increases in early childhood education is a crucial step forward to addressing gender pay disparities and recognising the true value of work in female dominated professions. As one worker said to me, 'It's not pin money; it's my career.'

On this side of the House, we often talk about closing the gender pay gap, and here is a concrete opportunity to do so. This government has managed to achieve the lowest ever gender pay gap, of just 11.5 per cent, and that hasn't happened by accident; it has happened because of targeted, deliberate policies such as this one—policies targeted at increasing wages in low paid, female dominated sectors—along with other strategies such as tax cuts being for all Australians, not just those on high wages; paid domestic violence leave; and an extension of paid parental leave, along with sharing arrangements. Now this bill will raise the wages of all workers in the predominantly female workforce of early childhood education. If we are serious about equality, about providing opportunities for women and about a fair wage for a fair day's work, we must address the chronic underpayment of early childhood educators, and this bill provides us with the tools to do just that.

Let us also consider the broader societal impacts of supporting early childhood education workers. When early childhood educators are fairly compensated, we not only ensure that our children are receiving high-quality care and education but also send a clear message about what we value as a society. Are we a society that values the wellbeing and development of our youngest members? Are we a society that values fairness and gender equity? Are we a society that values qualified workers being paid fairly for their skilled work? This bill is an opportunity for us to say yes to all of those questions. It is an opportunity for us to make a meaningful investment in our future, in our children and in the people who support them in their early learning journey.

In conclusion, the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) Bill is about more than just increasing wages, important as that is. It's about recognising the value of early childhood education and care workers, addressing gender pay inequity, stabilising a vital workforce and ensuring that our children have access to the high-quality care that they deserve. Early childhood education workers are some of the most important workers in the country and for our economy, and they deserve to be paid fairly. By supporting this bill we are not only doing what is right for early childhood educators but also investing in the future of our children and the future of our nation. I urge all members of this House to support this important piece of legislation. Let us stand together for wage justice, for gender equity and for the future of early childhood education in this country.

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