Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Independent) | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Senator Walsh. Minister, families in my home state of Tasmania know how important our childcare system is. It helps children grow, learn and be ready for school, and it helps families work, study and build their own futures. Can the minister update the Senate on why this sector is so important and how the Albanese Labor government is supporting families through our investment in early learning?

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Tyrrell, for your first question as a Labor Senator for Tasmania. It is good to have the opportunity to clear this up, because it seems that there's been a little bit of confusion lately about the importance of early childhood education. Last week, the One Nation leader was asked what she would do to improve the childcare system. She said, and I quote, 'Child care is completely out of control. Who's utilising those services? Do they require those services?' Well, let me help One Nation out. The answer is that one million modern Australian families rely on the early education and care system every week. That is, who is utilising these services—one million Australian families and 1.4 million Australian children. And, yes, Senator Hanson, those children and those families do need those services. Australian families need the childcare system to make their busy lives work and to help give their children a great start in life. On this side of the chamber, we back those families. We're backing them by investing in our nation's essential early childhood educators with our historic pay rise, we're backing them with our three-day guarantee and we're backing families by building more centres in the places where they are needed too. This is the practical support that one million modern Australian families need. So, while One Nation are scratching their heads over what modern families actually look like, and while One Nation scratches around for a guide to modern family life today, Labor is getting on with the job of backing Australian families with the practical support that they need.

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

Senator Tyrrell, first supplementary?

Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Independent) | Link to this | Hansard source

Look, it's clear our early educators do an amazing job and deserve every cent of their 15 per cent pay rise. It will help them pay the bills and ensure they can afford to stay in the jobs they love. But we know that families are also dealing with the cost-of-living crunch right now. How will Labor's policies help lower the cost of early learning for Australian families?

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) | Link to this | Hansard source

We are building an early childhood education and care system that is high quality. We are building a system that more families can afford, and we're building services where families need them most. We know families face cost-of-living challenges right now, and that is why the funding for our historic pay rise is tied to fee capping, putting downward pressure on fees and downward pressure on costs for families. That is on top of our cheaper childcare reforms, which save the average family 3½ thousand dollars this year, and our three-day guarantee, which guarantees three days Child Care Subsidy for every family that needs it, saving families up to $1,500 a year. We are delivering a quality early learning system that more families can afford in the places that need it the most. This is real cost-of-living relief, and it is what families deserve.

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

Thank you, Minister. Senator Tyrrell, second supplementary?

Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Independent) | Link to this | Hansard source

Early educators do one of the most important jobs in the whole country. They give the next generation of Australians a great start in life and help them get ready for school. Minister, why is a trained, qualified and respected early learning workforce so important?

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) | Link to this | Hansard source

On this side of the chamber, we know that our nation's early childhood educators are not babysitters. We know that our nation's educators, over 95 per cent of them women, are highly skilled. They are dedicated, they are essential and, yes, they are qualified too. One Nation thinks educators don't need to be qualified at all. But qualified educators understand how children's brains develop. They understand early literacy and numeracy. They promote social and emotional wellbeing. They do that in the first five years of a child's life, when over 95 per cent of brain development occurs. Their work matters. We back these early childhood educators. We see them, we value them and we are proud to back them in with our historic 15 per cent pay rise, because we know that qualified early educators are the foundation of the quality sector that families deserve.

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

Minister Wong?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.