Press Conference - Goodstart, Garran
ANNE ALY, MINISTER FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: Well, good morning, everyone. We're here at Goodstart Garran, having a great time with some of the littlest Aussies here in Garran and talking to the staff here. This week the Albanese Government will be introducing legislation for a 3 Day Guarantee. What does that mean? That means that more than 100,000 families across Australia will have access to more subsidised care – three days a week. And more than 66,000 families across Australia will be better off with our 3 Day Guarantee.
Now, when you look at the children here and you watch them play and you see their interactions, you get a bit of an understanding of just how important early childhood education and care can be in children's lives. But also, when you talk to the families and the parents, you understand also how much of an essential service it is for those families and parents. Changing the activity test to ensure that there is a three day guarantee means that every family, no matter what their circumstances, and every child, no matter what their background, no matter what their postcode, no matter where they live, and no matter what their parents’ circumstances are, has access to good quality early childhood education and care that helps them to grow, that helps them to thrive and that has a lasting impact throughout their life. Not just, not just at this age, not just with these little ones here, but right through school, right through adolescence and right into adulthood as well.
So, the Albanese Labor Government is committed to reforming early childhood education and care, to creating a universal system in the great Labor traditions of Medicare and universal superannuation. We're building the blocks, building the blocks for a future where every single Australian child and every single Australian family can have access to good quality early childhood education and care, so that parents can work if they need to work; primary caregivers, mostly mothers, mostly women, can go back to work or go back to study. And importantly – importantly, so that our children can have that care and that education that they need to grow and to thrive. I'm going to hand over to Minister Jason Clare to say a few more words on the Albanese Government's 3 Day Guarantee. Jase?
JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: Thanks, Anne. G'day, everybody. Childcare is essential for more than a million parents across the country and it's critical to help children get ready for school. When we were elected two and a half years ago, the cost of childcare had skyrocketed, gone through the roof, and we've cut the cost of childcare now for more than a million families. When we were elected two and a half years ago, teachers and educators in childcare were leaving the sector in droves. And we've turned that around now with a 15 per cent pay rise. And this is the next step. Fundamentally, this is about helping to make sure that every child gets a great start in life, helping to make sure that every child gets the benefit of early education and care. Because we know that if you're in early education and care, you're less likely to start school behind. You're more likely to start school ready to go, ready to learn.
That's why we'll build more centres where they don't exist at the moment, in the bush, in the regions and in the outer suburbs, and why we are getting rid of the Liberals’ activity test that stops a lot of children from poor families from ever getting access to early education in the first place. As I said, if you're a child who gets access to early education, you're more likely to start school ready to learn. And that's what this 3 Day Guarantee is all about. Guaranteeing 3 days of subsidised care for every child 3 days a week. Because if you get 3 days of early education a week, you're more likely to start school ready to learn. Fundamentally, that's what this is all about. We know that children have got a right to go to school and that government's got a responsibility to help provide that. Children have also got a right to early education, so they start school ready to learn, and the government's got a responsibility to help make that happen. And that's what this legislation that we're going to introduce this week is all about.
Now, what will the Liberals do? Well, the Liberals were opposed to our changes to cut the cost of childcare. They're opposed to our pay rise for early educators, they're opposed to building more centres where they don't exist. And I expect the Liberals will be opposed to this as well. The only thing that they've said that they will do is make cuts right across the board.
Peter Dutton yesterday said that if he's elected Prime Minister then there'll be cuts, hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of cuts, but he won't tell you where the cuts will be. Well, you don't have to be Einstein to work it out. It'll be cuts to childcare, cuts to aged care, cuts to Medicare. It's the same old story from the Liberals on repeat. This will be Tony Abbott 2.0. Tony Abbott said that he wouldn't cut health and education and then when he was elected, that's what he did. It was like Nightmare on Elm Street. He ripped the guts out of Medicare, ripped the guts out of school funding. Peter Dutton says that he will cut, but he won't tell you what he's going to cut. This is like a used car salesman who won't let you look under the bonnet before you buy the car. My message to the Australian people is, if you don't know, vote no. And if you do know what he's going to cut, you would never, ever vote for this bloke. Thanks very much.