Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the importance of appreciating and valuing our childcare workers, often referred to, importantly, as our early educators. Ask any parent who sends their child to child care and they will tell you the value and importance that our early educators bring. Our early educators provide essential care for children. Most families need two incomes to get by, and this would be impossible without childcare centres providing a safe place where parents can trust their children are looked after. But our childcare centres are more than that. Our childcare workers and early educators play an invaluable role in educating our children.

We know that early education is fundamentally important to the development of our children. Around 90 per cent of brain development occurs in the first few years of life, and early education is vital to continuing the teaching parents provide at home by giving children the opportunity to further develop their social skills and their literacy and numeracy skills. I know that when my son, Percy, comes home from child care he loves to be tested on his ABCDs, and I know that that is the type of input that he is getting from his early education. Early education gets children curious and interested in learning, and it helps them develop problem-solving skills and other important skills that will set them up for life. Particularly for disadvantaged children, education in the early years can lead to better outcomes at school and in life. Too often the importance of early education is minimised. In reality, early educators are helping to lay the foundations of learning and development for our children.

There are so many fantastic early educators right across the country and in particular in my electorate of Kingston. In my electorate, I have met so many passionate early educators who are dedicated to ensuring children are given the best possible start. The value of our early educators cannot be overstated, but currently their value is not reflected in their pay. Early educators are paid significantly less than primary and secondary educators. In fact, they are amongst the lowest-paid professionals in Australia. Around 95 per cent of early educators are female and, as is the case with a number of other highly feminised industries, their wages are lower.

It is important that our early educators get acknowledged. They should get the recognition they deserve. We are putting our most important asset in the hands of our early educators, and that is our children and our future generations. So today I would like to pay tribute to them and to thank them for the work they do right across this country and in my electorate. I would also like to give a shout-out to Percy's early educators, who do a fabulous job.