Lisa Darmanin (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was delighted to visit Goodstart Pakenham last month. I want to give a shout-out to Alice Spaulding, their dedicated manager, who cares deeply about running an excellent service for families. It's a vibrant centre. The children are curious and friendly. Educators are passionate about their work. Many have worked there long enough to see the children that they once educated go through school and university and then return as centre educators themselves. Pakenham is growing, and demand for services there is increasing. Early childhood education is not immune from this demand. The quality of the service run by the educators at Goodstart Pakenham is obvious. Children move on at four years old with some reading and writing, absolutely ready for school.

I want to pay particular tribute to Anselma Wong, who was a Goodstart Educator of the Year in 2024 and is an outstanding advocate for her colleagues. The reality is that, while positive progress has been made in improving their conditions under this government, early childhood education is a feminised industry, and more work is to be done. I want to pay tribute to all the workers in the sector.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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