Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am firmly of the view that one of the smartest investments that governments can make is in education. We know that the very best investments we can make in education are, in fact, in the early years. Research clearly shows that 90 per cent of brain development occurs in the first five years of a child's life, and we know that universal access to preschool and kindergarten works. Research shows that students who access 15 hours of quality early childhood education in the year before school do better in the year 3 NAPLAN test and score better in year 4 maths, English and science. We have the evidence to support this.

Last year, the government refused to commit to funding in the budget and left parents and services hanging for months on end to know whether there would be ongoing federal funding for preschool and kindergarten. Parents were scrambling to find child care, and educators were facing real uncertainty about their work moving forward. Some services were even facing closure. The government refused to confirm funding and kept families and services waiting until September, and then dragged negotiations on until the end of the year.

Now, sadly, we find ourselves in a similar position. There is no money in the budget for preschool funding from 2016, and it looks like this whole saga of uncertainty could happen all over again. Since Labor started this program in 2009, we have seen very real and very large increases in attendance at preschool. Attendance of 15 hours or more at preschool was at just 12 per cent in 2008, but, because of federal preschool funding, the ABS reports that enrolment rates exceeded 82 per cent in 2013. That is an extraordinary increase.

But there is more work to do. We know that disadvantaged children, Indigenous children and children from non-English speaking backgrounds are still too underrepresented in our preschools. They are the very children who stand to benefit the most from this critical early education, but we cannot leave them on the sidelines.

If the Prime Minister is serious when he says that good government starts today, he will commit to ongoing federal funding for preschool and he will listen to the advice of the OECD, who just this week gave the Abbott government a direct warning about the importance of preschool. The OECD selected improving performance and equity in education as one of Australia's top priorities to boost our future economic growth. This is something that will actually benefit all of us and our economy. They highlighted enrolment rates in preschool as an integral factor in this, and the universal access initiative as the way to do it. Once again, I call on the Abbott government to end the uncertainty and fund ongoing support for preschool and kindergarten.