Susan Lamb (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It really is an honour and a privilege to stand here, as the member for Longman, and be given some time this morning to acknowledge, applaud and put on the public record the unprecedented move that early childhood educators will take this afternoon.

It was just over a fortnight ago that I visited Goodstart Early Learning at Beachmere to bring in the 2017 Book Week by reading to the children at the centre. It's always a pleasure to visit an early childhood service, to engage with the children in their learning in each of the rooms they are in and to speak to the amazing staff. But whenever I visit one of these services, I just cannot get out of my mind how criminally undervalued these educators are. They are undervalued. They are criminally underappreciated and criminally underpaid. These educators, like those at Beachmere, like those at Narangba or Caboolture or over on Bribie, deserve more. These educators who work in early childhood education deserve more. They deserve to be paid a professional wage for the work they do. They deserve working conditions that are fair and reasonable. Australia's early childhood educators deserve much, much more.

I spent many years, prior to my election, being involved with the early childhood education sector. Over those years I have seen just how influential educators are in moulding and shaping the development of our children. They are effectively giving our children a head start in developing skills—social, emotional, cognitive skills—be it in the classroom or in the playground, that will set those children up for the rest of their lives. Early childhood education isn't just a good start in life; it's a great start in life. So the fact that these educators are earning less because of the work they do—it has traditionally been seen as women's work—is disgusting. It is disgusting that here, in 2017, many people in our society still see these jobs through a sexist lens that is based on outdated gender roles. It is unacceptable that the caring and compassionate work they do is so undervalued.

Today thousands of educators from more than 100 centres right across the country are walking off the job at 3.20. It's a demonstration of their frustration at being ignored. Early childhood educators are professionals who are having to take second jobs, working for around $21 an hour. They are not being recognised and rewarded for the work that they do. I have stood side by side with these educators, with these professionals, for years and years. They are angry, and rightly so. They are angry. They are furious. They should be congratulated for standing together, and together they will succeed. They will succeed, because those of us on this side of the House absolutely know that with a united voice you will win.