Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How is the Albanese Labor government helping to ensure childcare workers are valued and paid fairly, and what has been the response?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hasluck for her question and for welcoming me last Friday morning into a childcare centre in her electorate, where we were able to speak directly with the workers who do such an extraordinary job in looking after our youngest Australians. They are there not just to mind children but to educate them both in terms of early learning and through the social interaction that comes from that engagement.

That's why, last week, I was very proud that we announced the 15 per cent increase in pay for these essential workers: 10 per cent in December this year and five per cent in December next year—a total increase of $155, extra money in their pocket. This is added to by the fact that all of them will benefit as well from tax cuts that we've put in place—tax cuts of which they would otherwise have got either none, if they were part-time workers, or very little, if they were working full time.

Early educators do an extraordinary job, and this wage increase will make sure that the system doesn't continue to see people leave it because they can't afford to stay there. This is good for workers, good for children, good for families and good for our national economy, because early learning also allows people either to re-enter the workforce after having a child or to stay or to work one or two extra days above what they would otherwise have done. Claire, at my electorate in Leichhardt, where we launched the announcement last week, said this: 'It will help tremendously. It means that the teachers who are really passionate about the industry will stay. They don't have to leave.' And indeed it will. But of course those opposite refuse to embrace this change. They say they support workers, but there's always a 'but'. 'I don't oppose helping families, but—' and they go on to say why they're against it, with their relentless negativity.

The minister's already spoken about our friend Senator Rennick, personally endorsed by the Leader of the Opposition earlier this term in a preselection battle in the LNP where he spoke about institutionalised child care as a sacred cow for the Labor Party. He said it 'destroyed the family unit', and he went on to say it 'brainwashed children early with the woke mind virus'. I mean, this stuff is just extraordinary. It's from an elected senator, someone who actually gets to vote on legislation in this parliament. (Time expired)