Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I still find it—I would use the word 'gob-smacking' I suppose, because I can't think of anything else at the moment, that the opposition would come into this place without any hint of irony and complain about the cost of living. Let me remind people when the current wave of inflation started. In recent years, the peak of quarterly inflation was reached in March 2022 when those opposite were still in government. They created this crisis through almost a decade of wasted opportunities and inaction in government, and now they've got the gall to come in here and demand that we fix everything—before we were even in government, probably. They would be happy if we had done it then.

Our responsible economic management has helped to fight inflation, and it has kept Australia out of recession. Without our government spending on essential health services and our cost-of-living relief, Australia's economy would not have grown at all in the last quarter. Our economic plan is all about fighting inflation without smashing the economy. That is the responsible way. And we're helping people who are feeling under pressure. We understand that people are feeling under pressure.

The national accounts confirm that the economy barely grew last quarter, reflecting global uncertainty, higher interest rates and persistent inflation. Those opposite are in denial about that. They're in denial about the fact that there's global uncertainty. There are significant global challenges, and Australia is not immune to these. Many OECD countries have seen at least a negative quarter of growth.

The Albanese Labor government has a responsible economic plan focused on ensuring that inflation continues to moderate. But those opposite oppose things that we try to put in place to improve life for everybody. They opposed our energy bill rebates. They oppose our housing agenda. The one that really galls me is that they oppose wage increases. In particular, they opposed the early education and care 15 per cent wage increase. Can you believe that?

As Minister Watt mentioned earlier, I was an early childhood educator. I did that job for close on 12 years. I know the work that early childhood educators put in. But I also know they're treated like rubbish, and not necessarily by their bosses but by the community, who often think they're just there child minding. Well, let me tell you, if you'd ever worked in the area you would realise the effort that goes into minding your child. Every child is treated as an individual. Every early childhood education centre has to have program planning for every individual child. They have to make sure any special needs of that child are met. They have to make sure they meet all these criteria.

I worked in a centre that was responsible not only to the local government area but also to the state government and to the federal government. I had to fulfil the responsibilities of three layers of government—hours spent on paperwork—to receive a pittance in return. It's not good enough. People used to say to me, 'My child's the most precious thing in my life.' Well, make sure the people who are looking after this precious person in your life are paid responsibly. Where else would you get people doing the job that early childhood educators do? There's a reason it's a predominantly female workforce. It's because they're the people who will actually do that work, whereas men will often demand higher wages. I'm not saying there are no men in the early childhood education area; don't get me wrong. And the ones who are there are brilliant.

But it's so hard for early childhood educators to get a mortgage, to get a loan to buy a car. It shouldn't be. These people are looking after people's kids. As I said, everyone says how much they love their kids. The parents demand a really high standard of care. Of course these people should get a wage increase. But what happens? Those on the other side don't want it to happen. Nearly 40 years ago I was one of the people who started the call for— (Time expired)