Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. Today there have been announcements which highlight the significant changes that are occurring in child care as a result of this government's modernisation of childcare arrangements in this country. The basic principle that Labor stands by in this matter is that modern families want quality child care. In this day and age, it is the responsibility of governments to work closely with the childcare sector to ensure that we have a system that is flexible, that is of the highest quality and that actually meets the needs of Australian parents.

We understand that hardworking and dedicated early childhood workers have rights, and the government is prepared to work with the industry to ensure that those rights are recognised. That is why we are investing $300 million over two years to provide wage increases to the early childhood education and care workforce and to assist services to attract and to retain quality staff. This is a significant increase for early childhood educators. Through the Early Years Quality Fund, the government will provide grants to eligible long-day care services that will enable them to provide increases of $3 per hour to certificate III qualified personnel and provide proportional increases for those with diploma and bachelor qualified staff.

The government's announcement further assists to ensure the professional status of those who work in the industry, the hardworking staff, is able to be maintained and that we are able to provide a significant level of support to encourage the owners of childcare services—(Time expired)