Steph Hodgins-May (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister representing the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Minister Watt, to my question about early childhood education.

It is pretty clear from Minister Watt's response—or, rather, lack thereof—that the government is not listening. It is not listening to questions in this chamber and it is not listening to families right across the country who are being absolutely squeezed by the cost-of-living crisis.

I asked Minister Watt three direct questions about early childhood education and care. I asked the minister if he thought early childhood educators deserve a 25 per cent pay rise. I asked Minister Watt why the government won't make early childhood education free and universal, just like primary and secondary school. I also asked why the government is locking 126,000 kids out of early year's education by not abolishing the activity test. Instead of answering these questions, Minister Watt used the opportunity to big-note the Labor Party and offered nothing of substance.

Instead of providing some assurances to childcare educators about their legitimate demands for a 25 per cent pay increase, he dismissed them and instead chose to launch a disingenuous and false attack on the Greens. Instead of explaining to anxious families why the Labor government has failed to make early childhood education and care genuinely free and accessible, Minister Watt again avoided the substance of the question. Instead of providing assurances to low-income families across the country and parents working in part-time or casual work, the trajectory of the cruel and punitive activity test, Minister Watt failed to mention the activity test.

Minister Watt, you may think that the Greens won't succeed in securing these wins for the early education sectors and families across the country but we have and we will continue to fight for these reforms, as we have for decades. The next question for Minister Watt is: when will the Labor Party come to the table on these important reforms to the early childhood education sector?

Relying on the argument that Labor is doing more than the Liberals did simply won't cut it. If the government genuinely wants to ease the cost of living for parents, if the government genuinely wants to improve the early childhood education sector and make it universal for all, which the Greens have long campaigned for, I have some advice for Minister Watt: the government must give educators the pay rise they deserve and have called for.

Educators and the unions have been calling for 25 per cent wage increase and it is their tireless efforts that have the government starting to value the essential work that they do. Let's be clear, Labor's 15 per cent pay rise falls well short of what the sector and the unions have been demanding. The government must make early education universal and free for all. Across the country parents are struggling in a cost-of-living crisis. I'm hearing from families who are being forced to make impossible decisions between medicine or access to fresh food for their kids. Early childhood education and care are too expensive and too hard to access. It is simply unacceptable that in a wealthy country like ours kids are missing out on these crucial early learning opportunities.

Universal free education gives kids that critical start to life. It removes the barriers that remove choices for women. Free universal child care would boost women's capacity to engage in paid work and would relieve financial pressures on families right across the country. Accessible affordable childhood education and care is a political choice. So far the Greens are the only party fighting for this but we certainly welcome you to the table.

My third piece of advice to the government is to abolish the childcare subsidy activity test. The punitive activity test is preventing the most disadvantaged kids from accessing child care. The activity test links access to subsidised early childhood education and care to parent's participation in labour market activities. Families are stuck in a chicken-and-egg situation. They are seeking work but can't engage in work because they don't have early childhood education, and they can't access it because they are not working. How is that fair? The activity test is plainly bad policy and ignores the reality that parents often need to have access to high-quality reliable child care before they can commit to work. Research shows that removing the activity test would increase women's participation in the workforce, and surely we all want that.

Labor needs to stop grandstanding and start listening to the parents, educators and unions. Our early childhood education ecosystem is broken. Labor must step up and deliver real reform for kids, families and educators right across Australia.

Question agreed to.