Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the most excellent member for Gilmore for her question. I want to acknowledge the extremely hard way in which the member for Gilmore works for the people that she represents in Gilmore and the families that she represents. In October 2020 the Prime Minister delivered his budget reply speech as opposition leader, in which he committed future Labor governments to making early childhood education and care more affordable. It was the most significant on-budget promise we made when in opposition, and, in our first six months in government, we've passed legislation in this House honouring that commitment. We're delivering on that commitment, we're keeping that promise and we're getting the job done.

We know that, when Australian families sit down at the kitchen table and go through their household budgets, one of the first things that they have to factor in is the cost of early childhood education and care. Often that cost means that they then have to go on to work out how many hours they can work, and it often limits how many hours they can work or how many extra days they can work before that money is eaten up in early childhood education and care fees. We're fixing that, and, in just 100 days, around 1.2 million families right across Australia are going to benefit from our reforms. They can now start planning for the meaningful and ongoing cost-of-living relief that will hit their pockets from 1 July. For the average family on about $120,000 a year with a child in care three days a week, our changes will save them $1,700 a year. That's going to make a huge difference.

Our reforms aren't just about affordability. They will also ensure that children across Australia will benefit from the transformational effects of early learning. The research tells us this, and we know this. I've said before that children will be the main beneficiaries of our reforms, and it's true. This is an investment not just in the future of our country, not just in our economy, but in the future of Australian children, something I know that every member in this House is committed to. More Australian children will have access to the health and education benefits in those foundational years of learning, no matter what their background is, no matter who their parents are, no matter what their postcode is, no matter where they live.

I am proud to be part of the Albanese Labor government, which delivers on our promises and puts Australian families first. We're taking meaningful action on the cost of living, giving real and responsible relief to families, and our reforms will deliver just that.

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