Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What does it take to give a child the best start in life? It is a question that is reflected upon daily by parents, teachers, early childhood educators and politicians, and one that we must continue to ask ourselves as we look at implementing historic reforms to early learning and the childhood sector. As everyone in this chamber would agree, high-quality education is a critical element in providing children with the very best start in life. Education is not only the key to overcoming structural inequality and disadvantage; it is a crucial part of securing Australia's long-term economic growth. However, the benefits of education cannot be realised without investment in early years education.

It has been well established that children do their most important learning in their first five years. Indeed, evidence indicates that 90 per cent of brain development occurs in these critical early years. A child's experience in the first five years sets a course for the rest of their life, including for their long-term educational outcomes. With this in mind, I wish to again place on record my support for the United Voice Big Steps campaign. Senator Feeney is in the chamber with me, and of course he would support the Big Steps campaign.

David Feeney (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No doubt.

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also wish to place on record my support for the dedicated ECEC workforce and provide an update on their campaign activities. The United Voice Big Steps campaign is a grassroots, sector-wide campaign to secure professional wages in the early childhood education and care sector.

Since 2007 we have seen sustained growth in the number of children and families using early childhood education and care services. On any given day in Australia, up to one million children attend long day care services across the country. In my home state of Tasmania, 17,000 families use long day care services. Despite the increase in participation rates for children in formal care, the pay and conditions of some 60,000 people employed in the early childhood education and care sector remain unacceptable. Currently, an early childhood educator earns just over $18 per hour. It is a tragic reality that our tireless early childhood educators, who play such an important role in shaping the future of our young people, could earn more by cleaning tables in a fast-food restaurant or stacking shelves in a supermarket than they do as early childhood educators.

In the face of this economic hardship, large numbers of people working in the early childhood education and care sector have been forced to leave in search of higher-paying work. Over 180 educators leave the early childhood education and care sector each week due to the low wages and poor conditions. The United Voice campaign is focused on addressing the structural problems within the funding system for the early childhood education and care sector. The campaign is calling on the government to provide $1.4 billion in recurrent funding to the sector, which would secure a professional wage for educators.

The government has committed to widespread reforms to the early childhood education and care sector. The reform agenda is significant, and the measures include the development of a national curriculum, plus a new national quality framework bringing state and territory based licensing and quality systems into one nationally consistent system. As part of the government's commitment to building a high-quality, accessible and affordable early learning and care system in Australia, the government will invest a record $22.3 billion over the next four years in the early childhood education and care sector.

The national quality framework commenced progressive implementation on 1 January this year. This framework will improve the child-to-staff ratios, set new staff qualification requirements, introduce a new quality-rating system and establish a new national oversight body. It incorporates the national quality standard to ensure high-quality and consistent early childhood education and care across Australia. The government has also introduced changes to make child care more affordable and more accessible to families. The government has increased the rebate to 50 per cent and the cap to $7,500 per child per year. We know that these reforms are not only critical because they make high-quality and affordable child care a reality for low- to middle-income families; importantly, they also assist in raising the workforce participation rate of women. Women's workforce participation is sensitive to a range of factors, including affordability and the quality of care.

Notwithstanding the significant progress made by the government in achieving these historic reforms within the early childhood education and care sector, there is still more work to be done. The package of reforms announced by the Council of Australian Governments sets a bold vision for early childhood education and care in Australia. To achieve the government's goals, it is crucial that the sector is served by a stable, qualified and professional workforce. To achieve this we need to support the sector in retaining, recruiting and training staff. And to do this we must support professional wages. That is why I have given my support as an ECEC Champion, as many of my colleagues have, to the United Voice Big Steps campaign, because investing in the early education sector is so vitally important.

On 27 September this year I visited the Tiny Tackers ECEC centre in Glenorchy, a suburb in the electorate of Denison in Tasmania, along with my colleague Senator Lisa Singh and Jane Austin, the Labor candidate for Denison. Tiny Tackers is owned and operated by a young woman named Erica and is a thriving and vibrant local centre. As part of our visit to Tiny Tackers, the Big Steps campaign presented us with their 2013 budget submission stating the case for professional wages. The campaign also premiered their newly launched television commercial.

In the lead-up to the rally on National Big Steps Community Action Day on 17 November, I took up the challenge of living on an educator's wage of $18 an hour. I was partnered with Alicia, an ECEC worker, who presented me with a Big Steps cheque for $622.88, representing my pay for the week. Alicia also went through her own budget practices and the tough decisions she makes, week in and week out, to make ends meet. This exercise enables people to fully understand the difficulties faced, and it very much focused me on the tough budget decisions that need to be made. I thank Alicia for sharing her time and personal story with me.

The National Big Steps Community Action Day was a day for families, the sector and the wider community to celebrate and support the fantastic work of early childhood educators and to support the Big Steps budget call to the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and the Treasurer, Mr Swan, for a $1.4 billion budget allocation for professional wages. Rallies were held across Australia in every capital city. At the Hobart rally, around 900 people participated in the Big Steps action day. I had the opportunity to speak at the rally in Hobart, and I was joined by my colleagues Senator Lisa Singh and the Labor candidate for Denison, Jane Austin. In all over 12,000 people, including families, ECEC centre staff, supporters and members of the wider community, turned out to show their support for the campaign for professional wages.

As my contribution draws to a close, I would like to acknowledge the tireless work of United Voice, particularly the Tasmanian state secretary, Helen Gibbons, and the Tasmanian campaign coordinator for the Big Steps campaign, Jannette Armstrong. The Big Steps campaign has enabled me to meet with many early childhood educators and carers—mostly women—who have shared with me both their genuine passion for the work they do and the difficulties they face in making ends meet. So I want to acknowledge all these people and their passion and commitment to the campaign.

In the course of the debate on lifting wages for our early childhood educators and carers, we must never forget that the undervaluing of educators reflects the broader inequality which women continue to experience in the workplace today. The early childhood education and care sector continues to be a largely female dominated sector, and it is a sad reality that early childhood educators remain socially undervalued and underpaid. The Big Steps campaign is so much more than a campaign about better wages. It is a campaign about respect for the profession, it is about maintaining quality and it is about the continuation of education for our children. I would like once again to thank those involved in the national day, particularly Rebecca Hayes, who emceed the event, and of course United Voice for organising the rally. (Time expired)