Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration) Share this | Hansard source

The evidence is incontrovertible: the earlier a child accesses formal education the much better their chances of a good quality of life. In all of the metrics on quality of life, including learning and development, social skills, level of school attainment, tertiary study and eventually careers, children who access education at an earlier age are better placed to be more successful in those metrics. That comes down to the emphasis that we as a society place on early childhood education for our youngest citizens.

Really the question here in this bill, the Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025, is whether we believe that education is a right or whether we believe that education is a privilege. Having heard some of the speeches delivered by those opposite, it's not hard to see that many on that side believe that education is a privilege and that it should be paid for and not accessible by all. But, in this bill, Labor is saying our belief is that education is a right and that education is a right that every child should be able to access in this country from the earliest ages. And so this bill ensures that all children, regardless of their background, regardless of where they live and regardless of their parents' means and income, have access to a three-day guarantee of early childhood education. That's because we know that the evidence indicates that that child will have a much better chance at life through that earlier formal education. Simply, that is what this bill is all about—providing every child with that right to early education.

Our three-day guarantee, which will begin on 5 January next year, represents a fundamental shift in our belief about early childhood and the philosophy behind it—that every child should have the right to access it. So it represents a shift away from the restrictive activity test that was the hallmark of the previous government's management of early childhood to one of a fundamental right. We are proud of this reform because it will increase the entitlement to early childhood education for over 100,000 families, with more than 66,000 families expected to be better off in the first full financial year. But, importantly, no family and no child will be worse off. That is the crux of this argument. It's not just about numbers. It's about giving parents real choices about work and ensuring their children get the educational foundations that they deserve. The evidence is clear, as I said: quality early education sets children up for success in school and post-school life. It develops social skills, literacy and numeracy and it gives kids the confidence that they need to thrive.

That's why it's concerning that the opposition and the Liberal Party have made their position clear on this. We know that they'll go to the next election with promises to undermine the early childhood education system. There certainly won't be the same support there for early childhood educators that our government have delivered. They made cuts to early childhood in the past, and it's looking like that's another area where they will fulfil cuts in the future if they are going to meet their commitment to cut $300-odd billion from the budget. The impact of that will be devastating for many families. The impact when they were last in government was devastating. Department of Education data shows that the number of children from low-income families accessing care under the previous government plummeted from around 32,000 in 2018 to just 6,500 in 2019. That's not just a statistic; that's thousands of children denied the opportunity to learn and grow and develop alongside their peers.

Our reforms are momentous, groundbreaking and life changing for a generation of younger Australians. They've been described as momentous by groups representing parents and workers. We've delivered cheaper child care. We've implemented a 15 per cent wage rise for early childhood educators, and established the $1 billion early education fund to construct and expand childcare centres in areas of need. These are picking up on the points that were made by the previous speaker of the need in regional areas. On all of those issues, we're answering the call. We've got a solution that will ensure that there are more childcare centres constructed and that more children get access to early childhood education. I can't see how you could oppose that. I can't see how you can say to those families: 'No, early childhood education is not a right. It is only a privilege.' That is the approach that the opposition are taking.

I want to speak a little about early childhood educators. Traditionally, this is an occupation that has been undervalued and not respected in the way that it should be by the Australian community and by governments of the past. We are changing that. We recognise the skills, the training, the experience, and, most importantly, the groundbreaking job that early childhood educators do, and the influence that they can have on the lives and success of young Australians into the future. That is why we were proud to fund and implement the 15 per cent wage rise for early educators to recognise that there needed to be a seismic shift in the value that society placed on the work that they did. Going back to the point that I made earlier, we're recognising that early childhood education is a right, not a privilege. That is why we funded and implemented that 15 per cent wage rise, and I've been very pleased, going around the early childhood education centres in my electorate, hearing the support from early childhood educators for what Labor did, and thanking us for finally recognising and valuing the work that those great Australians do for the next generation.

This reform is really important. It's about recognising education as a right and ensuring that more kids get access to that right, and constructing more early education centres, particularly in the regions, to ensure that that right can be delivered. Unfortunately, those opposite still see early childhood education as a privilege. We intend to change that and make sure that it is a right recognised by Australians and accessible by every Australian child.

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