Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Early Childhood Education. How will the Albanese Labor government's tax cuts provide cost-of-living relief and support the aspirations of educators and teachers in the highly feminised early childhood education and care sector?

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

Many thanks to the wonderful member for Chisholm for her question. Come 1 July, 81,000 taxpayers in Chisholm will get a tax cut because of the actions of this government. They join 13.6 million Australian workers in every single electorate right across the country, who will see more money in their pockets to help with the cost of living. Australian women taxpayers will get an average tax cut of $1,649. Around six million Australian women will get a bigger tax cut under our government's plan, as opposed to the plan of those opposite.

The Albanese government wants to support the aspirations of all Australians, whether they be low-income earners, middle-income earners or high-income earners. We want to support the aspirations of highly feminised sectors, like early childhood education and care, where over 90 per cent of the workers are women. Under our tax cuts, an early childhood educator earning $46,000 a year gets a tax cut of $829. The average early childhood teacher gets $1,404 back into their pocket.

The dedicated and hardworking professionals who educate our youngest Australians love the work they do. They are passionate about early childhood education and child development. But, as they often tell me, love doesn't pay the bills. That's why we want early childhood educators to earn more and to keep more of what they earn. We've already supported two increases in modern awards benefiting early childhood educators. We've changed the Fair Work Act so that early childhood educators can bargain for better wages and conditions, something that they've aspired to for far too long. We know there's more to do, and we're actively working with the sector and the unions to not only retain those talented and dedicated professionals but also attract new workers into the sector, towards a sustainable early childhood education system for all Australians.

When those opposite were last in government, keeping wages low was the centrepiece of their economic agenda. They want early childhood educators to work longer for less. They don't want them to get a tax cut, and they don't want them to earn more. In contrast, on this side of the House, the Albanese Labor government wants all Australians to earn more and to keep more of what they earn.