Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Early Childhood Education. How is the Albanese Labor government laying the foundations for a better future for Australian children and families by making early childhood education more affordable?

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Cunningham for her question and would like to congratulate her on one year in this place. I know that the member for Cunningham, like all on this side of the House, is passionate about building a better future for Australian children.

A year ago Australians voted, and they voted for a government that puts Australian families first; a government that believes in giving every child the very best start in life; a government that believes in ensuring primary carers have a choice; a government that values our early childhood education workforce; and a government that recognises that the cost of early childhood education often puts it out of reach for far too many families. The Albanese Labor government is taking action, laying the foundations for a better future. From July, only a few more sleeps away, early childhood education and care will be more affordable for over 1.2 million families across Australia. That includes 265,000 families in rural and regional Australia. What does that mean? In practical terms, it means that a family earning $120,000 a year with one child in early learning will save about $1,700 a year. That's real money, that's real cost of living relief, and that makes a real difference to Australian families. These are vital reforms that will ensure children have access to high-quality, affordable early childhood education.

But we know that the work doesn't stop after just one year. We've also commenced an ACCC price inquiry and a Productivity Commission review into the broader early childhood education and care sector.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wannon will cease interjecting.

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

These key pieces of work will help us better understand how the system can become a more sustainable, more affordable early learning system that benefits every single child in Australia. We know that a strong, sustainable and qualified workforce is vital to this system, and that's why we passed the Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill last year, making our industrial relations system fairer for low-paid female-dominated sectors. This government has been working from day one to build an early childhood sector that is of high quality, that is accessible and that is affordable for all Australians, building on the past legacies of a Labor government in introducing the National Quality Framework for all early childhood educators in this country. After just one year, we have already delivered relief for families in early childhood education, and we will continue to deliver a world-class system for our very youngest Australians.