Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Green, and there may be a little bit of self-interest there for someone with real-life experience of having a little one in early childhood education and care! But last week we were very pleased to announce our investment in early childhood educators and in ensuring that they are paid properly but also that, importantly, those increased wage costs that come with that aren't going be footed by parents around this country. They're already paying a significant amount for their children to be in these centres, so it was important that government provide further assistance.

This ensures that that highly feminised workforce—over 90 per cent of the workers in that workforce are women, and it's no surprise that it's been underpaid and undervalued for too long. This addresses that but also puts a cap on the increases that centres can charge parents, because we don't want parents footing the bill for these additional investments.