Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Early Childhood Education. How are the Albanese Labor government's changes to make early learning more affordable, which came into effect earlier this month, benefiting Australian families by delivering real, responsible cost-of-living relief?

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

May I thank the member for Bennelong for his question. It demonstrates just how incredibly passionate he is about supporting families in Bennelong and ensuring that they can give their children the very best start in life.

Since we were last here in this House, the Albanese government's increase to the childcare subsidy has meant that more than 1.2 million families who have children in care are better off. That includes around 9,400 families in the electorate of Bennelong. These are changes that our Prime Minister announced as opposition leader and a policy that we took to the election. This government delivers on our promises, and we put the needs of Australian families first. That's why we made the changes to the childcare subsidy, not just because it was the right thing to do but because we know that making early childhood education and care more affordable pays a triple dividend: it provides real cost-of-living relief to parents and families, it gives children access to those transformational benefits of early learning and, importantly, it drives productivity, boosting our economy.

These changes are benefiting families across the country right now. This morning the Minister for Education, Minister Clare, and I had the absolute pleasure of meeting the Ramirez-Pendleton family and their beautiful daughter, Paloma. The parents, Blanca and Chris, and their adorable three-year-old, Paloma, told us just how impactful these changes have been for them. They can now afford to send Paloma to full-time early learning. That's an extra day that they've gained because of the Albanese government's changes to the childcare subsidy. This means that the mother, Blanca, can now pick up an extra day of work. That is a huge change to the family and a huge benefit to them. It gives them greater flexibility. It puts more money into their household budget.

We know that families like this right across Australia are also benefiting from our changes. Families like Blanca, Chris and Paloma are benefiting from these reforms. And the Albanese government will continue to make families like theirs a priority by providing real and responsible cost-of-living relief in our budget and in every measure that we take, whilst also laying the foundations for a better future—a better future for our children, like three-year-old Paloma, and a better future for our country.