Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to acknowledge the contribution of the member for Longman and the others who have spoken in what has been a really good debate and probably one of the few times in this House that I have felt there is a sense of civility and united purpose behind what we are here to discuss.

I want to make a contribution today as a member of parliament, as the member for Hotham representing my constituents but also as a working mum. We have tried just about every type of childcare arrangement you can find in our household. We have had occasional care. We have had family day care. We have had traditional child care. I have been a stay-at-home mum, and my partner has been a stay-at-home-dad. I have sat on waiting lists for months. I have been in situations where I cannot find the child care that I need.

Just as a young person in this chamber can give special insight into youth issues and someone from business can give insight into what is happening in the private sector, as a user of this system, I can give a little insight into the challenges. I want to say to the parents out there who may be listening: we get it. There are people in this chamber who are struggling with these very issues—the circumstances may be wildly different—but we understand that this issue cuts right to the heart of how you live your life every day as a family. We take that responsibility very seriously, and I think that is why we are seeing this level of civility in the chamber this afternoon.

As a Labor person, I think we have a really proud history in bringing the importance of early childhood education to the fore. Today there is general recognition across most of the policy world and out in the general community that early childhood education is of critical importance. It was Gough Whitlam back in the seventies who started the national conversation about this subject. It was Gough Whitlam who put this on the agenda of the national government. Since then you have seen successive Labor governments try to adapt the system to changing times. I think we will see this conversation about changing times continue.

I want to provide a couple of reflections on some things that I think are changing and things that we need to adapt the system to. Before I do that, I want to acknowledge the important work that the current shadow minister has done in this space. We have heard the words of the member for Lalor about the importance of quality. That is of critical importance. Early childhood education is not just about looking after kids while mums go to work. That is very important, but we cannot forget the critical importance of those early years of education. The shadow minister has been the one to put quality on the table time and time again when we have this debate, and I was pleased to hear her do so again this afternoon.

I want to acknowledge that we know families have changed. One of the reasons why we are having this discussion about child care and how we deal with early childhood education is that we are continuing to see these trends. Single-parent households are a much bigger feature of our lives and our economy than they were 20 or 30 years ago. We see the economic imperative of that, and some of other speakers have talked about the importance of improving female workforce participation—which I know many in this chamber will be aware of—and the Grattan Institute has suggested it is a bigger economic growth lever for this country than tax reform. Just think about the standard, length and detailed debate that we have about tax in this country versus early childhood education. Again, this is one reason why we welcome this debate.

I also wish to talk about the growing notion of the importance of early learning. It is very important to us in particular, as Labor people, because of the social justice angle to this. We know that young Australians who are entering early learning are about twice as likely to develop developmental delays when they come from a low-income household versus a high-income household. We also know that early learning is the key to trying to address these disadvantages. So some of the work of the academics in these areas suggests that just one dollar that we spend on a child in early learning is worth the equivalent of $7 of spending later in life. So this is a really important way for us to ensure that we have equal opportunity for Australians. I know, again, that this is something that we share—in a general sense, perhaps—with those on the other side of the House.

I am very pleased to hear the overtures of the minister, and we have heard that our shadow minister has said that she is very comfortable going into these discussions with an open mind. But I do want to put on notice that the early signs that I see about policy development in this area do give me a little bit of cause for concern. We have heard the government talk at length about their commitment to families, but there are certain budget measures, including $1 billion in cuts to child care, that I am not sure are supporting that sentiment. We have heard those on the other side of the House talk about the importance of supporting women. Again, I am not sure the evidence lines up there. But I will say, in the context of the bipartisanship, that I am keen to work with the government on this issue. (Time expired)

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