Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to rise today to speak on the Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Cheaper Child Care) Bill 2022. I rise to proudly speak on this bill today, because this is a bill that will make a system fairer. This is a bill that will make a system more accessible and it is a bill that recognises the importance and value of early childhood education. For far too long, under those opposite, early childhood education has been overlooked and undervalued. But it is so incredibly valuable. Early childhood education gives our youngest Australians the best start to life, and it enables parents, especially mothers, to get back into work when they want to.

I know a few of those opposite and in the other place may disagree with the value of this bill. It is particularly interesting to hear those opposite now concerned so deeply with access and workforce shortages and wages issues after spending ten years treating early educators so poorly and dismissing their continual concerns that the early education industry should be valued for what it is. Their disagreement is well documented from the last ten years and in the media. We've heard things from those opposite like, 'The best place for children is at home,' and, 'Working women are outsourcing their parenting when they use child care.' Well, these old, antiquated points of view do not belong in Australia in 2022, and they certainly do not belong on government benches. It is why this government is so proud to introduce this bill, to pass it through the parliament and to deliver our promises to early childhood educators and to parents across the country.

It was those opposite who ripped JobKeeper from dedicated early childhood educators during the pandemic. Early educators were the very first to be cut off when JobKeeper was ripped away. Early childhood educators were, at the time, at the forefront of the pandemic, in settings where being COVID safe was just impossible. Early educators were ensuring that other frontline workers could do their jobs, but they were completely dismissed by those opposite. So it is now completely shocking and disgraceful and absolutely shameful to hear those opposite trying to mask this behaviour when we talk about the lack of educators and the workforce shortages that are being faced.

Early childhood educators are underpaid. I don't think anyone on this side of the chamber is arguing anything other than that. They are also undervalued, and they were undervalued for almost a decade by those opposite when they were in government. Early childhood educators are leaving the sector in droves—we know this—because under the former government they were treated so poorly. They don't see the value in their work add up in their pay packets. That is unfair, and it is time for that to change. Our incredible early childhood educators aren't just caring for our youngest Australians; they're ensuring that our children are getting the best start to their lives and their education. It's why this bill will see more kids in child care and more mums participating in the workforce.

There is more work to be done to get wages moving for educators and to make the system fairer for educators. We don't pretend that this bill to deliver cheaper child care, more affordable child care, for every Australian who uses the system is a one-stop shop. We know that there is more work to do, and I'm really proud that in this sitting fortnight the Senate will get a chance to have its say on the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill, because, if you support early childhood educators getting a pay rise, then you can support this bill as well. I think early childhood educators would be pleased to hear those opposite finally concerned about their wages, finally concerned about the fact that their wages haven't kept up with the cost of living. It will be incredibly interesting to see what the crossbench and those opposite do when given the chance to support a bill that will deliver wage growth for workers like early educators.

It is only our government that understands the importance of early childhood education, and that's why we took this promise to the election. We know that making early childhood education more affordable and more accessible to families is an economic measure. During the election, we heard from those opposite that we had a lack of economic policies. They're so dismissive of this policy being an economic measure that they don't see the value in it. But we do—our government does—and that is why we are delivering through this bill. This is a policy that will make our entire country better. It will get more people into work, and it will mean that mums are, finally, not financially punished for wanting to work more, which is how the system currently operates. This bill makes sense. It works for Australians. It works for young Australians and it means better wages for Australians.

Finally, I say to those early childhood educators who have spent decades campaigning and getting out there to talk about the value of their work: you have finally been listened to. We value the work that you do. We thank you for caring for our children. We could not do our jobs in this place or, indeed, across the country without the support of early childhood educators. You are valued. We support the work that you do, and this bill brings delivering a better childcare system for every single Australian just one step closer. We need to deliver cheaper child care, and that is what this bill will do.