Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Recently I had the pleasure of hosting the minister in my electorate of Lyons for the Tasmanian early years strategy round table. It was a great pleasure to have her there. These round tables, which are being held across the country, deliver on the government's commitment to develop an early years strategy, in consultation with the sector, families and service providers. The strategy focuses on our children's foundational early years, from zero to five, to optimise their lifetime wellbeing and counter the factors that are detrimental to their wellbeing across many areas. We know that if we get those vital first five years right we are able to change the trajectory of a child's life.

At the Tasmanian round table in Sorell, the minister and I heard from stakeholders their thoughts on what policy priorities should be included in the strategy and why. It was also a delight to host the minister at Tagari Lia in Bridgewater, as we visited stakeholders there. One of the key themes that emerged from this discussion was the need for greater support for the early childhood education workforce. In fact, just today the Mercury newspaper reported the results of the United Workers Union survey in which 73 per cent of the 4,000 respondents indicated that they planned to leave the sector within the next three years due to excessive workload and low pay—another legacy of the former government.

The Albanese Labor government knows that a supported, valued workforce is critical to making early childhood education and care more accessible and affordable for Australian families, so my question to the minister is: can the minister outline what support is available in the budget to attract, retain and support the early childhood workforce?

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