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

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Minister Watt. Educators and unions have fought long and hard for a 25 per cent pay rise for early childhood educators, and last week the government announced an overdue 15 per cent wage increase. These educators, who are overwhelmingly women, have been calling for a 25 per cent wage increase, to value the essential and underrecognised work of educating and caring for our kids in those critical early years. For too long these childcare workers have been leaving the industry in droves because they aren't being paid enough, and they can't afford to stay. Our childcare system is in a crisis. Australia needs a workforce strategy that continues to build capacity, and that requires paying our educators what they deserve. Minister, don't you think that early childhood educators deserve a 25 per cent pay increase?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator, for your question. Only the Greens could be upset about a pay rise being provided by a Labor government to some of the lowest paid and most important workers in our community. Only the Greens could be disappointed about that. Do you know the reason they're disappointed about that? They can't use their favourite phrase, 'We did it,' because they didn't do it. It was a Labor government that delivered a much-needed, much-deserved pay rise for early childhood educators in our country, obviously in partnership with the trade union movement, who, along with members of those unions and those workers, have campaigned for this for a very long time.

Among our ranks, we have a number of people who've been campaigning for this a whole lot longer than the Greens, who like to jump on the bandwagon. I'm talking about people like Senator Bilyk, who actually is a former early childhood educator and has been campaigning for this for 40 years. I'm talking about people like Senator Walsh, whose professional career was devoted to assisting these workers get a pay rise that they deserve. The list goes on across our ranks. Don't come in here and try and be Johnny-come-latelies and all of a sudden say that you care about early childhood educators when you've done nothing about it until the last meme was available. Don't lecture us about supporting workers. Don't support us—

Hon. Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, I'm going to point at you, because you're the people who want to jump on the bandwagon. When Labor governments actually do something—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt, resume your seat. Senator Shoebridge?

David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think, President, you can anticipate my point of order.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes. Thank you. Minister Watt, I do—

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You're a hypocrite.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, Senator Wong!

Honourable senators interjecting—

Order across the chamber! I am responding to the point of order raised by Senator Shoebridge. I do remind you, Minister Watt, to direct your answers to the chair. Please continue.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Chair, I suspect you might agree, in your impartial manner, that the Labor government has been doing a lot, because it's something I know you have campaigned on for a very long time, as well, along with early childhood workers.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt, please resume your seat. Senator Shoebridge on a point of order?

David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister should not bring you into a partisan debate in the way he did. It impugns your—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Shoebridge, resume your seat! Please continue, Minister.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Greens, wanting to complain about something that the Labor government has done, now dictate who can actually support that policy in the Labor government. There you go—that's the Greens for you.

Every person and every group involved in the early childhood education sector has welcomed this pay rise as much needed. It would appear that the only group who are unhappy about this are the Greens because they now lose a campaign opportunity calling for a pay rise—because we've actually done it. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hodgins-May, a first supplementary?

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

Women and families across Australia are hurting because early childhood education and care is too expensive and too hard to access. Kids are missing out on crucial early years education and parents are missing out on much-needed paid work in a cost-of-living crisis. Last week, the government could have made early education and care free and accessible, but instead they locked in a fee hike for families, who are already struggling.

Minister, why won't your government make early childhood education and care free and universal, just like primary and secondary school?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It must be hard being a Greens senator, because every time there's good news delivered by a Labor government, you've got to find a reason to whinge about it. And you've got to be reminded that, if you're a Greens senator, all you can achieve is a whole lot of complaining rather than actually delivering the kinds of things that the Labor government is delivering.

Let me tell you what Lisa, an early childhood educator in New South Wales, had to say about the pay rise the Albanese government has just delivered. Lisa said—and I'm sure she speaks for many in her position:

This is a monumental moment. It is history making. This means I can stay in the job I love and I know that it is going to change a lot of lives, not just my own.

…   …   …

We are proud to finally win the recognition that educators deserve.

You can pontificate all you want; you can complain all you want; but you will never represent people like Lisa, who actually work in this sector and deserve the pay rise that they are now getting as a direct result of an Albanese Labor government.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hodgins-May, a second supplementary?

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

Research shows that the childcare subsidy activity test is contributing to 126,000 children from low-income households missing out on early years education. The activity test is cruel and punitive, unfairly punishes low-income families and keeps women out of work. No-one wants the activity test, and parents in the sector continue to call for its abolition. Minister, why is your government locking 126,000 kids out of early years education by not abolishing the activity test?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Again, thank you very much for that question, Senator, because it now gives me an opportunity to talk not just about the pay rise we provided to early childhood educators but about the cut in childcare fees that the Albanese Labor government is providing families all around Australia.

As a result of the policies that the Albanese Labor government has brought in, we now see childcare fees reduced by 11 per cent, on average, for Australian families. That is a direct result of our policies.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt, please resume your seat. Senator Hodgins-May?

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

A point of order, Speaker: I specifically asked about the abolishing of the activity test, and I would refer the minister to my question.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Wong?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Two points. First, the minister has only had 22 seconds; I'm sure he will get to that point. The second point is—

Honourable senators interjecting—

I'm sure he will. I have great faith in Senator Watt. The second point is: Senator, you actually made an assertion about the cost of child care, so the minister is entitled to respond to that assertion.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister Wong. Order! First of all, Senator Hodgins-May, I'm the President, not the Speaker. Secondly, you did refer to fee hikes at the start of your question and you talked about women not being able to go to work, so the minister is entitled to canvass those issues in his response. Please continue, Minister Watt.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, President. The issues that Senator Hodgins-May is talking about have been the subject of a number of reviews that have been presented to the government and they are matters we are considering. But in the meantime, what we are actually doing is making child care cheaper for Australian families, another thing the coalition opposed—let's not forget about them—with the ACCC finding that out-of-pocket expenses for centre based daycare decreased by 11 per cent on average between June and September 2023. Again, it takes a rare talent to complain about childcare fees being reduced. It takes a rare talent to complain about early childhood pay but you are up to the job. (Time expired)