Every parent knows how important the first years of a child's life are. Long before a child walks through the school gates for the first time, they are already learning, developing and discovering the world around them. Early childhood education and care plays an enormous role in that development. It helps children build their confidence, develop their social skills and establish the foundations they will carry with them into school and later life.

At the centre of that system are our early childhood educators. Every day, educators across Australia help children learn, grow and get ready for school. Early educators help children discover new skills and build confidence. Through encouragement and support, educators help young children navigate challenges and important developmental milestones. Just as importantly, educators provide comfort and stability, creating an environment where children feel safe, supported and included. Strong relationships with families are also central to their work, helping ensure every child receives the care and support they need to thrive. That work requires patience, skill, professionalism and an enormous amount of responsibility.

For too long, however, the importance of this work was not properly reflected in the wages early educators received. This is one of the most important jobs in our country, and the people doing it deserve to be paid fairly. That is why on 8 August 2024 the Albanese government announced that we would fund a historic 15 per cent pay rise for eligible ECEC workers. It was recognition of the value of their work, but it was also about addressing a very real workforce challenge facing the early childhood education and care sector.

Across Australia, early learning services were struggling to attract and retain the educators they needed. Staff shortages meant some rooms could not open, enrolments had to be limited and plans to expand services were put on hold. For families, that meant fewer places available and longer waits to access the early learning and care they relied on. At the same time, experienced educators were leaving a profession they loved, because they could earn more elsewhere. We could not expect a vital sector to continue operating under that pressure and, without properly valuing the work they do, we could not expect educators to stay. It was not sustainable for services. Most importantly, it was not delivering the stable early learning system that Australian children and families deserve.

The worker retention payment was designed to help turn that around. Today, through this bill, the government is taking the next step. We are locking in that pay rise for another two years. The bill provides an additional $3.6 billion to continue supporting higher wages for early childhood education and care workers. It extends the special account so that funding can continue through the worker retention payment.

This is significant because the evidence shows that this policy is working. Since the worker retention payment was announced in 2024, around 20,000 more early childhood education and care workers have entered the workforce. That represents an increase of around eight per cent. At the same time, job vacancies across the sector have fallen by almost 31 per cent. The proportion of services operating with a staffing waiver has almost halved, falling from 8.9 to 4.3 per cent.

Those numbers tell an important story. More people are choosing to work in early childhood education and care. More experienced educators are being encouraged to stay. Services are finding it easier to fill positions. That means greater stability for children, families and the educators themselves. Stability is one of the most important factors in early learning. Children benefit when they are surrounded by educators they learn to know and trust. Parents benefit from knowing that the people caring for their children will be there tomorrow, the next week and next year. Educators benefit when they are part of a stable team where experience is valued and workloads can be better shared.

Strong relationships between children and educators cannot simply be replaced every few months. They take time to develop. That consistency helps children feel safe and supported and allows educators to understand each child's individual strengths, needs and development. So when we talk about workforce retention, we're not simply talking about an employment statistic. A stable workforce means children receive consistent, high-quality early learning from educators they know and trust. It gives parents confidence when they drop their children off each morning that they are being supported by experienced and dedicated professionals. Most importantly, it helps give every child the strong start in life they deserve. That is why continuing to invest in our early childhood education workforce matters so much.

When combined with this government's support for minimum wage increases, a typical full-time educator will be around $255 better off each week compared to December 2024. For an early childhood teacher, that figure is around $410 a week. That is a meaningful difference. For workers paying the rent or mortgage, buying groceries and managing household bills, an extra $255 or $410 each week is substantial. It also sends an important message about how we value this profession. People who dedicate their careers to educating and caring for our youngest Australians should not have to choose between the work they love and earning enough to support themselves and their families.

Fair wages are fundamental to building a strong and sustainable early childhood education workforce. Better pay helps attract new educators to the sector while giving experienced workers more reason to build a long-term career in early learning. Importantly, it also recognises the skills, responsibility and professionalism that educators bring to their work every single day. But this government also understands that increasing wages cannot simply mean increasing costs for families. That is why funding under the worker retention payment is tied to a commitment from participating services to limit fee increases.

The results so far show that approach is working. Fees at centres receiving the payment have grown at around half the rate of centres that have not signed up. Through this extension, the average family is expected to save around $1,500 over the next two years. We want educators to be paid properly without families being handed the bill. At a time when household budgets remain under pressure, families should not have to choose between fair wages for educators and affordable early learning. For the first time, employees in all childcare subsidy approved services will be eligible for the payment. That broadens the reach of this support and ensures more workers can benefit from the wage increases this government is funding.

The Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account)(Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026 is also about something even more fundamental. It's about the health and safety of our children. Parents have every right to expect that when they leave their child at an early learning service, that child will be safe. There can be no compromise on that. The overwhelming majority of services and educators take the responsibility extremely seriously every single day. Around 95 per cent of services currently meet the required standard for children's health and safety. But, when we are talking about the safety of children, 95 per cent is not enough. We should always be striving for better. That is why this bill establishes a new objective and condition for funding through the wage justice special account. From July 2027, services receiving this funding will be required to meet quality area 2 of the national quality standard relating specifically to children's health and safety. Where a service does not meet that standard, its funding may be suspended or reduced. This is a reasonable expectation.

The Commonwealth is making a significant investment in the future of early childhood education and care. That investment means better support for the workforce, greater certainty for services trying to retain experienced educators and more help for families to keep early learning affordable. Ultimately, it is about building a stronger and more sustainable early learning system that works for educators, families and children. In return, services receiving that support must meet appropriate standards when it comes to the health and safety of the children in their care. Quality and safety must sit at the heart of our early childhood education and care system, because early learning is not simply somewhere children go while their parents are at work. For many children, their early educator is one of the first trusted adults they build a relationship with outside of their immediate family. Early educators are there for so many of the important milestones in a child's early years. From learning new words and forming their first friendships to developing confidence, curiosity and creativity, educators help children through these important stages.

They also help children develop the social skills that are so important in everyday life, including how to communicate, share and work alongside others. These experiences help prepare children for the transition to school, but their importance reaches well beyond the classroom. The skills and relationships developed during these early years can provide a foundation that children carry with them throughout their lives. Quality early learning helps establish foundations that can last a lifetime. That is why Labor has always understood that investing in early childhood education is an investment in Australia's future.

Investing in early childhood education delivers benefits well beyond the doors of an early learning centre. Children get a stronger start in life, parents have greater opportunities to participate in the workforce and educators are better supported to build rewarding careers. The benefits are felt across families, workplaces and communities, making early learning an investment in both our children and Australia's future.

The measures contained in this bill build on that commitment. An additional $3.6 billion will ensure the worker retention payment can continue supporting higher wages. The extension will help services retain the skilled educators they need. Fee controls will continue protecting families from excessive increases. Expanded eligibility will allow more educators to benefit. New safety requirements will ensure Commonwealth funding supports services that meet the standards Australian families rightly expect.

We have already seen what happens when the early childhood workforce is stretched too thin. Services struggle to operate at capacity, centres close, waiting lists grow, families struggle to find care and, ultimately, children miss out. The figures since the introduction of the worker retention payment demonstrate that we can change that trajectory. Around 20,000 additional workers in the sector is significant. A reduction of almost 31 per cent in job vacancies is significant. A fall in services operating with staffing waivers from 8.9 per cent to 4.3 per cent is significant. These are real improvements occurring across the sector. Now is not the time to walk away from that progress. It's time to build on it.

This bill provides certainty to workers who deserve to know that their pay rise will continue. It provides certainty to services planning their workforce for the years ahead. It provides greater certainty to parents who depend on early learning to participate in work, study and their communities. Most importantly, it provides greater stability for children.

The Albanese Labor government believes that the people who educate and care for our youngest Australians deserve recognition, not just through our words but through our actions. That was the principle behind the historic 15 per cent pay rise announced in 2024. This bill locks in that progress for another two years. Above all, it recognises that the strength of our early learning system depends on the people who make it work every day: the professionals helping our youngest Australians develop the skills and confidence they need for the next stage of their lives. They deserve a government that values their contribution. Australian families deserve an early learning system that is affordable, reliable and safe. Every child deserves the opportunity to get the best possible start in life.

In closing, I want to give a huge shout-out to a local professional in the ECEC space, Rebecca Stiles from the Hillbank Community Children's Centre, who is a long-time advocate of ensuring that wage justice is delivered, alongside all of her colleagues that put their hands up to be delegates in their workplaces across South Australia. The work that the United Workers Union has done in this space is absolutely commendable because it is delivering real, substantive change in communities like mine and others across this country, and that is so, so important.

To people like Rebecca, who have put up their hand and gone from an early childhood educator in the formative stages of their career to becoming a shop steward, often a facility manager, but now commenced work with the union itself—it takes special people to put their hand up, raise their voice and fight on behalf of a whole cohort of workers across this country. To be able to deliver substantial changes like this that give the recognition that they so deservedly need is something that I'm extremely proud to be able to stand in this place and be a small part of that journey for. To Rebecca and all of your colleagues in South Australia: thank you for all the work you've done over the numerous years in the lead-up to this decision. I thank the House.

I am extremely proud to speak on the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026 because, for a number of reasons, I understand the value, the expertise, the professionalism required and the benefits that we get from our outstanding early educators that are working right across the country. In fact, I wouldn't be able to deliver this speech right now if it weren't for the early educators currently looking after my incredible eight-month-old daughter, who would otherwise be demanding my attention in a whole range of other ways. This morning, when I dropped her off, she was immediately greeted by professional and hardworking staff who are there to look after our most important people in our lives, our children.

I also understand the professionalism and the expertise required to be an early educator from my own experience. In university, I did relief teaching in a kindergarten in my own electorate. I used to come in at about 11 o'clock, and the educators would take their lunch breaks. One after another, they would come in and out, and I would come in and do some support relief teaching. For the few hours I was inside that early education service, it was a full-energy experience. You have these amazing four-year-olds who want to play, learn and engage, and it was such a social and fun environment. But it was also an environment where you would have to maintain an eye on the safety of the kids and whether one child was upset or by themselves. You're constantly on. You're constantly working. You're constantly looking around. You're constantly engaged with what's in front of you.

I only did a few hours a day, but when you finish you are absolutely exhausted. I can only imagine what it would feel like to do that full time for each and every day. You're looking after, educating and supporting these young people. I have nothing but respect and admiration for our early education staff and the skills, expertise and professionalism required. That is why our early educators deserve the pay increase that is built into this bill. I know and I see how hard they work. I know and I see how much goes into doing that job to the standard that they hold themselves to and the standard that we want for our kids. There is no way that anyone should do that job without being paid accordingly. It is just too much to ask.

I'm proud that, since coming into government, we have made this a priority. Since coming into government, we have recognised that these workers deserve a pay increase. I'm proud that, in August 2024, we announced a $3.6 billion investment to deliver the 15 per cent wage increase for early childhood educators in the form of a workplace retention payment. That means that over 215,000 early educators and workers right across the country are now benefiting from this pay rise, including more than a thousand in my electorate of Macnamara. In June this year, the Prime Minister announced that we would extend this pay rise for another two years, and that is exactly what the bill before the House does.

I also want to pay tribute to the staff and the union that work so hard to ensure that the council early educator workers receive this payment. As we were introducing it and implementing it, there was a lot of work that had to be done to ensure the services and the council were able to work through the requirements, but it was thanks to joint efforts that that is now happening in the City of Port Phillip, and the educators and the families deserve nothing less.

It is not surprising that, when you pay people properly, you attract good people and you attract more people to the work. What we've seen is that there has been around an eight per cent increase in the number of early childhood education workers across the country, that job vacancies have gone down by almost a third and that the percentage of services operating with a staffing waiver has also fallen from 8.9 per cent to 4.3 per cent. What these numbers tell us is that, when you increase the wages of staff, people want to work there, job vacancies go down and services don't have to put in conditions that mean you have people who don't have the relevant qualifications filling in roles that they otherwise wouldn't have to. That's exactly what we want, because we know how much work and how much expertise is required to do these roles. That's why we want people who have the qualifications and the experience to be able to do these roles. We want people to be able to work. We also know that, without this and without the system having these staff working across these centres, there just wouldn't be the places available for the children so that people can go back to work.

We know that there is still an imbalance in the time taken off work between mums and dads. We know that there is an imbalance in the breakdown between men and women among people who work in this sector. Not only is this an industry and a profession where women are still the majority, but also, when there aren't enough places, it's mums who carry the burden of home duties. What we want to see is a more even spread. We want to see more dads and other men carrying an equal share not only of the work of this incredible sector but also of the work of being able to be at home. When you mix this in with our reforms on paid parental leave, the clear message we're sending to Australian dads, families and workers is that, if you work in this sector, we want you to earn a good wage, but also that it can't just be up to mum.

Personally, when I took time to have some parental leave so that my partner could go back to work, it was one of the most valuable and important decisions I've ever made. I did miss this place—kind of—for a couple of months, but what it did mean was that I was able to be at home and do all of the care requirements that were required so that my partner could work. I think that, the more we have these conversations and the more we don't just allow industries like this to just continue to roll on, the better. These workers deserve a pay increase. We know the economic benefit of having these places, but I think also that the broader conversation around parenting and around dads playing an active role is such a healthy one for our country and one that I fully support. I definitely make this recommendation to dads or future dads out there: if you're thinking about taking some time to go on parental leave, do it. You'll be a better father as a result, and it'll be good for your kids, and it'll be good for the family and for the country as well.

One of the things that we all we all know as parents is that, when your child is at these incredible services right around the country, you want to have the confidence that these kids are safe. For the vast majority of services and centres around the country, that has been the case. I know that every day, when I get to pick up my daughter and I hear about the day and the staff are engaging and kind and talk about the things that have happened, it means so much to parents. But we have also seen that there have been some absolutely shocking and unacceptable incidents which are devastating not only for families but actually for the vast majority of staff, who are doing the right thing and who are working hard. They feel it too. This bill actually ensures that the National Quality Framework is updated to include some of those safety measures and to ensure that everyone can have more confidence in the way in which our early education sector is regulated and that the educators, who we support with a higher wage, can also have confidence that the very best of their industry is being represented and the very best of their work is being represented and know that we support them and thank them for their work and that those who have done the wrong thing don't reflect the vast majority of the workers.

There are some compliance components in this bill that are important. I know that, when parents look at what sorts of services they send their children to, the rating that ACECQA does and the standards that we have have been really good in terms of driving up standards across the country. I know that the services take great pride in being able to demonstrate the high quality of service that they provide. Certainly, for those who do the wrong thing or who don't meet those standards, it becomes transparent, and it ends up lifting up the standard right across the sector, which is essential for valuing the work that our early education sector does. We want to see more services exceeding the standards of the national standards, and we want to see more workers helping to achieve those results, because they are celebrated right across the community. Parents really search for it and want to know and want to have that confidence that that is the standard that these services are aiming for.

One mention I do want to make in the few minutes that I have in parliament is around mandatory child safety training. This is something that I've been working on with colleagues for quite some time. What this goes to is that, if you are coming into an early education service and you are a staff member, you have experience in recognising some of the key indicators of people who breach child safety standards. If you want to go and serve beer in a pub, you have to do your RSA, and that requires you doing a couple of hours of training that shows that you understood and you are willing to comply with the standards to ensure that there is safety in that workplace, but there is no such requirement for early education. Obviously, the educators, as part of their official training, do get training as part of that, but there are staff members who can walk into an early education centre with less training than you need to pour a beer at the pub, which is pretty shocking.

There is an organisation who's been at the forefront of reform in this area. It's called the Australian Childhood Foundation. A friend of mine, who is an incredible advocate and who powerfully shares her own story, has been working with not only our government but especially the Victorian government. Her name is Emma, and she has been leading these reform calls, and they have just been awarded the official tender by the Victorian government to design and provide that training in Victoria. It is the culmination of years of hard work, and I just want to give a shout-out to Emma, who deserves a huge amount of credit here. Her work will ensure that children are safer and that staff will be there and able to recognise the early signs of concern and be able to take steps to prevent it to ensure child safety standards are met. I just wanted to say to Emma well done. You should be proud, and we are in your debt for your work in this area.

Deputy Speaker Chesters, in a few hours, I'm going to go pick up my daughter, just as you've done in your time in this place, from the outstanding early educators that we've got here in Parliament House, but I know that, right across the country, there are people who dedicate their lives to ensuring all of the benefits that young person could have in some of the most formative years of their life in an environment which is social, safe, educative and also a place where parents can, with confidence, drop their kids off and go back to work and contribute to our economy. We owe our early educators so much. It is the least we can do to pay them adequately.

The pay increase that is built into this bill is something that I'm extremely proud of. I want to say that, as someone who had just a taste of the work that they do, I'm in awe of the skill, the energy and the expertise required. They are outstanding professionals, they work hard and they help shape the future, and for that we're proud to pay them adequately and—more so—we're proud to say that we thank them for their work, we value it and we want to see more educators working for our country and for our kids.

I rise to speak on the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026. This bill credits $3.7 billion to the early childhood education and care workers special account, used to make the early childhood education and care worker retention payment, and extends the sunset date to 31 December 2029. I support the government in what it is seeking to do here. It is seeking to pay early educators more, and I think that is critical. It's seeking to reward these people, who make a huge difference to Australians and kids across our country, and ensuring that they can provide affordable care tied to enforceable safety standards. I believe these are urgent and important goals.

I particularly want to shout out to the early childhood education workers who supported my family. I remember one year I had three kids in early childhood education, so it was quite the drop-off when I got to drop off all my three kids to the same place, and I was delighted with the care that they received, the personalisation and knowing that they were in safe hands and that I could go to work and do the things that I thought were important while knowing that my kids were cared for. They make a huge difference. We're very lucky to have wonderful organisations in Wentworth, including SDN Paddington at Fiveways and KU Rushcutters Bay, which I particularly use. I know that we have many, many great providers there, and I'm extremely grateful for them.

But I want to be honest that we have some significant challenges in the early childhood education space, and we need to be clear on them. Australia's early childhood sector, which is a pillar of our community—it is integral, and the Prime Minister has said in his own words that he would like it to be his legacy—is showing significant cracks. We've had multiple reviews of the sector. The Productivity Commission and the ACCC have conducted lengthy investigations and demonstrated the range of issues and the fragility of the sector in terms of providing both affordable and high-quality care. Particularly in recent months, parents have been absolutely horrified to learn of widespread mistreatment and even sexual abuse that has happened to Australia's most vulnerable in their most formative years, in places where parents believe our kids will be safe. This is absolutely horrifying, and I know the parents across my community are worried about this.

I want to recognise that this isn't for lack of government intervention. The government has been active in this space. The government has increased, for instance, childcare support, and it's grown significantly, reaching $16 billion a year, our 11th largest program in the budget forward estimates. So this is enormous.

But, even as quality has been a focus for obvious and very serious reasons, the ability to provide adequate care is also beginning to fray. Childcare deserts persist across Australia, and not just in areas we would typically expect. In my electorate of Wentworth, a few short stops from Sydney's CBD, we are having challenges in retaining the childcare providers that we have. This is a time when the state government is looking to substantially increase the supply of housing in my electorate. We're ready to accommodate more housing, but we must have the services that match both current and future demand.

Recently I met with parents while attending the Darlinghurst Goodstart Early Learning centre in my community, which faced closure. This is a not-for-profit organisation with an exceedingly good quality rating, facing closure. These parents were absolutely devastated. They were going to be given three months notice. They had no idea what they were going to do with their kids and how they were going to continue their lives and continue to work in a time when, suddenly, they were going to lose a childcare place with very little notice, in a place where many people put their children down for childcare places or early education places before they're even born because they are hoping to get into them.

So this was enormously stressful. These parents described to me the relationships they had with their amazing staff and educators, how much trust they had in the individuals. To them, finding another provider was not just a matter of availability but also a matter of having to start again in building that trust with strangers looking after their children.

But I'll be honest, this isn't an isolated incident. In that case, we've had a good outcome, and I will come back to that, but in the past few months alone, no fewer than six childcare services have closed in my electorate, citing a range of factors from higher costs to rent to unavailable spaces, redevelopment requests and shortages of goods staff. The spaces that do remain are significantly expensive, even with the subsidy, and it's increasingly competitive. It's placing greater requirements on informal care arrangements like grandparents, and is having this impact on decisions around fertility, family formation, employment and education. I met a young woman who is a single mother and survivor of domestic violence, who because of Goodstart has been able to get her real estate licence and find stable employment and housing for the first time. She is proud of the independence afforded to her through her access to early childhood education and work. This woman would be forced out of work if she didn't have that support.

But this is not just a story of disadvantage. There are also families in my electorate with dual incomes, on good incomes, that are still struggling with childcare costs, combined with higher costs of living, including high mortgage costs. I met another woman in Wentworth last month who described to me how she and her husband are on a good salaries—really good salaries—but they are paying 30 per cent of their post-tax income on their child care. That's after the subsidies. This woman was telling me about how she is sending her four-year-old to school early because of how tight family finances are right now, particularly with their mortgage payments. She was also telling me how this access to child care and the cost of child care is an issue in relation to coercive control around her peers, because if people—typically women—can't access early education for their kids, they often either go back to work less or don't go back to work. That actually makes them more vulnerable because they do not have the ability to earn their own money and escape violence or coercive control if they need to. The childcare sector is meant to fix and address these failings, but it genuinely isn't. I doorknocked a woman and asked, 'What re the issues that are facing you?' and she said, 'We're not having a third child because of childcare costs.' This is the country that we're operating here.

To come back to Goodstart and the childcare centre closing in my area, it was great news on Friday because the early learning centre in Sydney will stay open, after Goodstart and the city of Sydney reached an agreement. It is a genuine ,win and the credit belongs to the parents who fought for it. I was proud to stand alongside them. Their tenacity made the difference, and I was proud to advocate for them, including to the minister and to the council about why this was so important. But families shouldn't have to run a campaign to keep their early learning centres open. Parents are already juggling work, mortgages and small kids, and they don't need to be adding 'lobbying' to the list. We need to have a system in which every child and every family who wants that early education and care can afford it, trust it and be reassured that it will still be there next year. I think we need to acknowledge that the system is not delivering at the moment on this.

I want to come back to the impact that this is having more broadly in the country. Australia's fertility rate is now the lowest on record—less than 1.5 births per woman. Australians are not turning away from family life; they are looking at the combined costs of raising families, of housing, the cost of care, and the shape of their week, and concluding it doesn't add up. Child care sets sits right at the heart of that calculation, and, even with this bill, child care costs are up 7.3 per cent to July—double the pace of inflation. There is no single fix here, and no one level of government can deliver it alone, but there is an obligation on all of them to cooperate and to get this right. The sector requires greater stewardship. The government needs to reflect on the rules that it has brought in regarding things like the childcare top-up and the controls around raising fees, and consider actively whether they are working as intended, because that issue with the childcare top-up and the fee caps was one of the reasons that centre was going to close. The government, in this case, did identify that and make an exception.

We also need to see more not-for-profit centres enter into the childcare space because, over the last period of time, we've seen a big increase in for-profit providers and a decrease of the not-for-profit sector. I support for-profits and not-for-profits within this sector of the economy, but we need to look at the evidence to show that the not-for-profit sector have, on average, better outcome ratings in this, but they are not increasing their proportion; they're actually decreasing the proportion of the service that they're providing to our community. We need to really ask ourselves: is that what we want? I think most Australians are saying no, it's not. We want a sector which is encouraging the best providers, not just the for-profit providers, to get into the system.

We need to acknowledge that the system as we know it is failing, and we need to be prepared to think outside the box and chart a course towards a transition of a more stable model which is affordable and universal. This could involve solutions such as greater co-location and integration of child care in the public education system. I think there's enormous merit in that, as ANU Professor Bob Breunig has suggested. Incorporating child care into the schooling sector could also help with staff retention, as career development becomes a real option for early years educators to take on new challenges, teach different years and progress to the schooling system if that's what they would like.

We also need to be unlocking capital to support the social sector. Michael Traill has done some great work in advocating how we can adjust some of the performance measures in super, such as Your Future, Your Super, to better unlock capital for the social sector while at the same time not inhibiting the returns that individuals want from the super sector. I think this is important. I think the government should definitely be considering this because we do need to make sure that the super sector, the money that we all have in super, is not hampered from investing in areas which make a difference to the country as long as those investment returns add up.

I think there is an issue over time of government cost shifting from one education program to another. I think we need to be finding economies of scale in the system that provide lower costs, career development and stability. I think the first step is to admit that we have a systemic problem with early childhood education in this country. Over the past 2½ days, we've heard plenty from the government about the merits of various provisions made in this term and the last. Many of them are worthy. I support what the government has done to ensure that childcare workers are paid more. I think that is appropriate. But let's not ignore the fact that this bill merely kicks a very big can down the road. My community want to know where that road is ultimately going to lead.

I ask the Prime Minister to reaffirm his commitment to making child care a defining legacy and not putting it in the too-hard basket. Also do the hard work of looking at the sector as a whole and saying, 'What is the design of the sector that is going to be stable, that is going to be affordable, that is going to address these childcare deserts and that is going to be something that Australians can be proud of going into the future?' There are members of this chamber who will come along that journey with you, Prime Minister. This challenge is not going to be solved in a single term, but we must be willing to consider where we would like to get to and plan out to get there. Thank you. This is an important bill, but this cannot be the last word.

The Albanese Labor government has a focus on families and children, and we understand the enormous challenges that families and children have to navigate. Our government is committed to making this process easier for them. We have, for example, expanded the eligibility for parenting payment (single), raising the cut-off age from eight to 14, which has benefited 200,000 single parents in three years since the measure was introduced. We have increased the family tax benefit through indexation, which has benefited 1.2 million families with children. From July this year, the government extended paid parental leave to 26 weeks, allowing parents to access up to $30,000 for paid leave. That's six months that parents can spend with their new baby during one of the most important periods of that baby's life; six months to create long-lasting memories, because as difficult and exhausting as this time can be, it is also incredibly rewarding and very fleeting; six months during which parents can plan their financial futures, their future in work and the future for their family.

Debate interrupted.