Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Way back in 2022 the new federal government made much of its commitment to remedy the national early childhood education shortage and to alleviate the prohibitive costs families pay for such services. Almost three years later, in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, there is scant evidence of progress, especially in Tasmania where the pace of reform is glacial at best.

For example, Greater Hobart, which includes my electorate of Clark, has 27,000 children, with almost 13,000 aged under four, but only 4,000 day care spaces currently available. Astonishingly, since 2022, the only signs of a remedy to this chronic shortage are one development approval and one project in early planning. In other words, for many Greater Hobart families day care is just a daydream.

Of course, day care is not simply about returning to work for financial reasons. Early childhood education is also about the many benefits it provides to children, all of which are denied to children if there's no child care available.

Newton's first law of motion states that an object at rest stays at rest, which explains Australian childcare policy because clearly a policy at rest stays at rest. On behalf of the people of Hobart and Tasmania, I urge the government to get on their bikes and actually get moving.