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

A world-class education system is the foundation of a strong economy and a strong nation. It is the bedrock upon which we build a more prosperous and fair society. Education empowers individuals, strengthens communities and drives innovation and productivity. That is why the Albanese Labor government has been working since day one to strengthen our education system, starting from the earliest years of a child's life. Early childhood education and care is not just a convenience for working parents; it is essential for our future. Research shows that quality early education leads to better school readiness, higher educational attainment and improved employment outcomes later in life. Children who attend early education are more likely to develop crucial social, emotional and cognitive skills that set them up for lifelong success.

Labor knows that access to high-quality education and care is essential, not just for our children but for our workforce, our economy and our society as a whole. That is why we have already taken major steps to make early education more affordable for families across our nation. Our cheaper childcare reforms have cut the cost of early education for more than one million Australian families. Recent data show that an Australian family with a household income of $120,000 a year that is paying the average quarterly fee for 30 hours of child care per week has saved approximately $2,768 since September 2023. For many families, this relief has made a real difference in balancing work and family life.

But affordability is just one piece of the puzzle. To ensure that every child can access quality early learning, we must also invest in our early education workforce. That is why the Albanese Labor government has delivered a 15 per cent pay rise for early childhood educators. For too long, early childhood educators, who play such a crucial role in our children's development, have been undervalued and underpaid. This pay rise will help attract and retain skilled professionals in the sector, ensuring that our children receive the best possible start in life.

I have seen the impact with my own eyes. From Bella Estate to Cranbourne West, when I visit childcare centres, the passionate staff have told me about how they're able to focus and put more energy into the job without having to worry about living pay cheque to pay cheque. Minister Clare has said that after Goodstart, one of the largest childcare providers in Australia, signed onto the agreement, they saw a 35 per cent increase in applications. More passionate early educators are entering the sector, ensuring that children receive the high-quality care and education they deserve.

This is just the beginning. Labor's vision is clear. We're working towards a universal early education system where every child is guaranteed access to at least three days of high-quality early learning per week. From January 2026, we will replace the current activity test with a three-day guarantee, ensuring all families, regardless of their work or study commitments, will be eligible for at least 72 hours of subsidised early education per fortnight. This initiative represents a significant shift towards universal access to early learning.

Currently, too many children who would benefit the most from early education are missing out. The Productivity Commission's final report, A path to universal early childhood education and care, released in September 2024, made it clear that the children and families most likely to benefit from early education are the least likely to attend. Those are children in our outer suburbs, children in communities like mine, in Hampton Park, Cranbourne, Clyde and Narre Warren South. The three-day guarantee will ensure that no child starts school behind simply because their families were unable to access early education.

It will provide certainty for families, helping parents, particularly women, return to work, take on more hours or pursue further education and training. We know that a lack of access to affordable child care is one of the biggest barriers preventing parents from fully participating in the workforce. This is why these reforms are also a crucial part of our plan to strengthen Australia's economy, by ensuring parents have more opportunities to work, study or train. We are unlocking growth across the economy. These reforms will help address crucial skills shortages to ensure that Australia has the workforce it needs for the future. In the first full financial year, the three-day guarantee will benefit around 66,700 families, with more than 100,000 families becoming eligible for additional hours of subsidised care.

Under the new system, families that meet activity requirements or have a valid exemption can still access 100 hours of subsidised early education per fortnight. We know that we can't get more children into the sector without expanding the number of places available. In suburbs like Clyde, Clyde North and Botanic Ridge, there are over seven children for each childcare place—three times the national average. That is why we have announced one of the largest investments in expansion of childcare centres in history, through Labor's $1 billion Building Early Education Fund. We will build and expand early education centres in areas of need across our outer suburbs. This includes areas in my electorate, like Clyde, Clyde North and Botanic Ridge. This fund will provide grants and invest directly in owning and leasing out services. It will also focus on co-locating early education services on school sites where possible.

Our commitment to education does not stop at early childhood learning. Labor will, for the first time in history, fully fund Victorian public schools. Under the new agreement, the Commonwealth will provide an additional five per cent of the schooling resource standard to Victorian public schools. This is an additional $2.5 billion in Victorian public schools over the next decade, bringing them up to the schooling resource standard for the first time in history, ensuring that our public schools are properly funded and that all students have the support they need to succeed. We are also expanding fee-free TAFE and university places, helping more Australians to gain skills they need for the jobs of the future. Through the National Skills Agreement, we are delivering a historic $12.6 billion investment to rebuild TAFE, and we are guaranteeing 100,000 free TAFE courses, permanently. Through our $10,000 apprenticeship support payments, we are encouraging more people to take up apprenticeships in key industries, addressing workforce shortages and ensuring we have the skills to build our nation.

While we are making these transformative investments, we know that the Liberals are not on board. They have voted against these policies, including fee-free TAFE, calling them 'wasteful spending'. It's still unclear what the Liberals plan to slash in their $300 billion budget cuts, but we do know that they do not support these programs. They do not support making child care more affordable, they do not support wage justice for early educators, and they do not support building the future workforce this country needs. When the Liberals were last in government, they halved the Child Care Subsidy. This resulted in the number of low-income families receiving care dropping from 32,000 to 6,500. This is their belief: not child care for everyone, but only child care for those who can afford it. Labor is building a foundation for our nation, ensuring that all children, regardless of their background, have access to high-quality education and care from the very start of their lives. The Liberals—they only want to tear those foundations down.

The benefits couldn't be clearer. The Productivity Commission supports these changes, the Business Council supports these changes, childcare operators support these changes, and parenting groups support these changes. The Albanese Labor government believes that every child deserves access to quality early child care and also education. That is why we are building a universal early childhood education system, one that is simple, affordable and accessible for every family. We are abolishing the activity test, guaranteeing three days a fortnight of child care for every Australian family so that all Australians get the best start in life. We are investing $1 billion to expand childcare places in suburbs like Hampton Park, Clyde, Cranbourne West and Botanic Ridge to make sure that happens. Labor believes every child has the right to go to school and, just as importantly, the right to early education. This is why we are supporting families, strengthening the early education system and laying the groundwork for Australia's future success. We are building Australia's future. We are doing it by investing in our youngest. I want to thank the Minister for Education, Jason Clare, and the Minister for Youth, Dr Anne Aly, for driving these reforms and ensuring that all Australians have the best start in life. I commend this bill to the House.

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