Mrs PHILLIPS (Gilmore) (10:41): Recently we celebrated Early Learning Matters Week. To celebrate our early learning educators and how important early learning is, I accepted an invitation to visit the Jerry Bailey Early Education and Care Service at Shoalhaven Heads. I was greeted by the friendly team of early learning educators and the very inquisitive children at Jerry Bailey's children's service.
It was very easy to see the wide variety of educational and fun activities that the children were working on, which they got me to help them with. I particularly liked one of their most recent activities, a game with Indigenous words and pictures they proudly told me was made by a local Aboriginal woman. The children had been artistic before my visit, too, making a giant welcome and 'Thank you for visiting' card, complete with colourful painted children's handprints and artwork.
I asked how the Albanese government's cheaper child care had been received by parents. I was told that it was a very welcome relief indeed. Our cheaper child care is helping provide cost-of-living relief for around 4,800 families in Gilmore. It's also good because we know that the early years of a child's life are a critical window in a child's development. It is about investing in the early years, which will deliver long-term benefits for children, families, and our communities.
A few weeks ago, after the Albanese Labor government's cheaper childcare measures began to take effect, I met with local mum Lisa from Gerringong. Lisa told me that our cheaper childcare measures were great for her family. Lisa told me that cheaper child care means she doesn't have to choose between progressing her career as a health professional and being a mum. That's a huge win. I don't want to see a situation where people must choose between having a family and progressing in their careers. In Lisa's case, the Albanese Labor government's cheaper childcare measures are helping her have both. But cheaper child care isn't just good for Lisa's family, because Lisa works in health care and she works with children. Cheaper child care allowed Lisa to do another day at work per week. As part of her work, she could then help other families whose children needed her specialised services. Cheaper child care is about letting people make the choices they need and allowing them to do what is best for their family.
We know that after a decade of inaction by the Liberal government and their deliberate design strategy to keep wages low, there are many challenges in the early learning sector, including low wages of early learning educators and the dire shortage of early learning places—it's a vicious cycle. I was recently contacted by a local mum due to go back to work as a teacher but was unable to secure a childcare place. Sadly, after years of neglect by the former government, this is common, but we are tackling the issues head on. Our cheaper child care is one important part of that, but we are also doing so much more.
The work of our early childhood educators is essential to the successful development of our children and our nation. It should be valued on its own merits, free of discriminatory assumptions based on the gender of the people who perform the work. As a result, last year, we passed the secure jobs, better pay bill, which allows for greater access to bargaining for lower paid and feminised sectors through the supported bargaining system, which will help workers negotiate better pay and conditions. We did this because we know that we have to do more to help lift early learning educators' pay and close the gender pay gap. It's why we have also implemented fee-free TAFE in industry skills shortage areas, like child care, and funded university places for early education teachers.
We also have a comprehensive Productivity Commission inquiry into Australia's childhood education and care system to help us chart a course for a universal and affordable early learning system in the great tradition of universal Medicare and universal superannuation. The inquiry will make recommendations to support affordable, accessible, equitable and high-quality early childhood education that reduces barriers to workforce participation and supports children's learning and development.
There is a lot to do to support early learning educators and our early learning centres. We are getting on with the job. We know just how crucial the first five years are for children and their families.
