My question is to the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Senator Walsh. Families rely on quality early learning centres to balance work and family life and to give their children a great start. But to have a quality early learning sector, we need to build a skilled, stable workforce. This week, the parliament passed legislation to lock in the Albanese Labor government's historic 15 per cent pay rise for early educators. Can the minister update the Senate on how this legislation will create jobs, deliver fair pay, keep costs down for families and strengthen safety for children?

Thank you, Senator Sheldon, for your question and for always standing up for women workers and for all workers. On Tuesday, the parliament locked in our historic 15 per cent pay rise for early educators because, on this side of the chamber, we back workers. This pay rise has made real change in their lives. For a typical full-time educator, it means an extra $255 a week. This is helping educators. It is helping them pay the rent. It is helping them pay the bills, save a little and plan for the future.

When we first came to government, the workforce was in crisis. Educators were leaving the sector in droves. They loved their jobs, but love didn't pay the bills. We listened, and we acted. When you pay educators more, more people want to do the job. Since the pay rise was first announced, 20,000 more educators have joined the sector—more jobs, more educators and a stable workforce. This is good for children because they see the same trusted faces each week. It's good for families because it means centres are more stable and more reliable. It's good for educators because they can build a career in early learning. Centres receiving the payment must limit fee increases so the cost isn't passed on to families.

We are strengthening safety too. From July next year, if centres don't meet the national safety standard, they face losing their funding under the worker retention payment, because nothing is more important than keeping children safe. We know this pay rise is working and that's why we've locked it in.

Senator Sheldon, first supplementary?

The Albanese Labor government's 15 per cent pay rise is creating jobs, attracting more educators to early learning and helping experienced workers stay in the sector. It means hardworking educators can pay the bills, plan for the future and build a lasting career. What are Australia's educators telling the minister about the difference this pay rise is making for their families?

Well, this week I met Melanie, Sisca, Sharon, Dristi and Kath, five dedicated early educators working across Canberra. But their story could be the story of any one of the 215,000 early educators benefiting from this pay rise. Educating and caring for children is the most important job in this country, and Melanie told me she's been doing it for many years.

Melanie told me that, during the 10 long years of the coalition doing absolutely nothing about their wages, she had been advocating for this pay rise with her union, the United Workers Union. She told me that the change took time and that the change she advocated for has been worth it, especially when she looks at younger educators like Siska and Dristi, who now see a future in the jobs that they love. (Time expired)

Senator Sheldon, a second supplementary?

It's great to see so many early childhood educators also speak out and win this campaign, and in the United Workers Union as well. The Albanese Labor government is creating more jobs, lifting educators' wages and building a more stable early learning system for children and families. Can the minister outline the risks to this approach and how that could threaten these jobs, cut wages and undermine workplace and workforce stability?

Of course, there is another approach. That is the approach of the coalition and One Nation on the other side of the chamber, because they simply do not value workers. The coalition had a decade to support our nation's early educators, and they never did. When we first delivered our 15 per cent pay rise, they dismissed it as a 'sugar hit'. And One Nation are no better. When Senator Hanson was asked if she backed the pay rise, she refused to do so. 'Didn't they just get a pay rise?' she said. You never hear One Nation backing workers. You never hear One Nation backing pay rises. You never hear One Nation saying workers deserve to be valued. On this side of the chamber, we value early educators, we value Australian workers and we are proud to always back them in.