Speech - Chifley Research Centre Policy Conference

I acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are gathered today. 

I want to thank the Chifley Research Centre and Emma Dawson for inviting me to speak today. It’s a pleasure to be here and an honour to speak after the Prime Minister’s address this morning.

It's great to see so many of my esteemed Labor colleagues taking part today as well, including National President Wayne Swan.

During the second election debate last year, the Prime Minister was asked what he wanted his legacy to be.

And he responded with the topic of today’s address: universal early education and care.

It is no wonder a Prime Minister who believes in a country where no-one is held back and no-one left behind has this vision.

Because quality early learning gives children a great start in life, and it helps families thrive. 

I see this all the time when I speak to parents like Marina – a mum in Melbourne whose son has autism.

Her little boy has started to point, speak and play with other children now that he has an extra day at his local early learning centre, thanks to Labor’s 3 Day Guarantee.

The difference she’s seen is a reminder of why this matters.

And it doesn’t just matter to Marina and her son. 

By the age of four, about 90 per cent of Australian children are accessing early learning.

82 per cent of working families use this system.

A million families each year.

Quality early learning matters.

It’s good for children.

It’s good for families.

It’s good for the nation.

Our work to build a system that works for more families is nation-building reform.

And it sits within a proud Labor heritage.

A heritage that goes back to Ben Chifley.

He saw children not just as a private family responsibility, but as part of the nation’s future.

The Chifley Government expanded child endowment payments and strengthened maternity benefits.

Knowing that this reform was about giving families security and improving the lives of everyday Australians.

Years later, the Rudd-Gillard Government was the first to recognise that early education and care is not babysitting.

The first to understand that its essential workforce should be valued and qualified.

The first to build out an early education system based on strong national quality standards and educator to child ratios.

And the first to recognise that the first five years of a child’s learning belong in the Education portfolio of government.

Because like primary school and high school, the first five years of a child’s life really matters.

Indeed, it matters to children’s lives through every age and stage, because 90 per cent of brain development occurs in those first five years.

It matters to their chances of having a good education and a healthy life; to their chances of perhaps going further in life than their parents did.

Quality early education and care is a game changer.

It is an opportunity-maker.

Because, as Education Minister Jason Clare puts it, the early years are the time when ‘everything we see, hear, every meal, every smile, every book, shapes the people we become’.

For these reasons and more, early education is core Labor business.

And as a government, we are in the business of continuing the hard work of reform, to build a system that benefits every child who needs it, and every family who counts on it.

A universal early education and care system.

Now, we come to this reform after what can only be described as a decade of drift and decline.

After refusing to properly value our nation’s dedicated early childhood educators, the Coalition left us a workforce crisis, with educators leaving in droves. 

I saw it happen. I was there as part of the Big Steps campaign, where educators warned over and again that while they loved their jobs, love didn’t pay the rent. 

The Coalition excluded families through their Activity Test – the very disadvantaged families who stood to benefit the most from early learning.

And they let fees skyrocket by double the OECD average, causing a cost crunch that locked more children and families out too.

The only reform they attempted was their $240 million Nanny Trial.

It didn’t work. 

Just 200 families signed up.

The media labelled it ‘an expensive failure’.

And it was quietly shelved.

It is difficult to imagine a more damaging time for early childhood education.

So today, we are doing the careful work of not only rebuilding this essential sector, but putting the building blocks of universal early education and care in place too.

Our reforms are about making sure that quality early learning is there not just for the children of today, but for the families of tomorrow too, and for future generations to come.

That’s what universal early education and care is about.

Now despite some of the more outlandish commentary you might read, making early education and care universal doesn’t mean it’s going to be free for everyone – or compulsory for everyone either.

Universal early education means families can afford it.  

It means families can find it in their neighbourhood. 

And it means it’s good quality.

This is not pie in the sky stuff – it’s the sort of practical support that families really need.

Affordable.

Available.

Good quality.

Those are the building blocks of universal early education.

We are putting them in place right now.

And it all starts with our dedicated, committed early childhood educators.

Two days after I was sworn in, I met with Talitha, an educator at Goodstart Braddon – exactly one year ago today.

At the time, Talitha was 22. Hard-working, passionate, and she wanted to stay in the sector if she could afford it.

We spoke about the difference that the first 10 per cent of the Government’s 15 per cent pay rise was already making in her life.

We spoke about how important it is that the Government respects educators, and that their pay reflects that.

Because we want more people like Talitha educating our littlest Australians.

I met Talitha again at the end of last year, with the full pay rise in place. 

In the time since I’d first seen her, she’d gotten married – and she told me the pay rise would help her and her husband start their own family sooner.

This is exactly what we want to see.

Educators love their jobs, but they must be paid enough to be able to start their own families, while they are supporting all of ours.

Enough to stay in the sector, building their skills and long-term connections with children in their care.

Today, with our 15 per cent pay rise in place, a full-time educator is getting $200 more in their weekly pay.

And there are more than 200,000 stories just like Talitha’s.

Educators are staying in the jobs they love.

That is good for them, and even better for the children in their care.

The pay rise is working, and we’ll have more to say later this year on the next steps to support this workforce.

A strong, stable workforce is not only the foundation of quality.

It is critical to safety in early learning settings too.

In July last year, we heard sickening allegations of abuse in Victoria.

It was clear to everyone that urgent change was needed.

Speaking nearly a year on, I can say we have taken the strongest possible action to keep children safe in early learning.

Children’s safety and wellbeing must be the paramount consideration in this sector. So we’ve made that the law.

The child safety package that we agreed with the States and Territories in August is rolling out now – and it is all on track.

We introduced legislation to cut funding from providers who put profit ahead of safety. 

And we are using it – 87 services are on notice that if they don’t lift their game, we’ll cut their funding.

And we’ve gone further.

If you can’t demonstrate that you can meet safety standards, we can and will block Commonwealth Child Care Subsidy from being used to open new services.

We’ve put a stop on a South Australian provider who now cannot get our funding for new services until regulators are confident it’s lifted standards.

That is appropriate. 

Because child safety in non-negotiable. 

We are driving change, and we will continue to do so.

The changes we’ve made will not only help keep children safe, they will help improve quality overall in this sector.

And we know that quality is key.

Because quality early learning does change lives.

There is a huge body of research that shows that. 

The First Five Years report is just a recent example. 

This groundbreaking Australian research confirms international evidence that quality early learning benefits children.

It helps them develop, and learn, and be ready for school.

In short, this report tells us that quality matters – and it can change the trajectory of children’s lives.

This year, Labor has delivered the 3 Day Guarantee.

It means every child is now eligible for three days of Child Care Subsidy. 

No matter who you are, where you live, or what your parents do for work.

Just like Australian children can all attend school – no matter who they are.

The 3 Day Guarantee started on January 5, and new data we’re releasing today shows it’s working.

Now, around 100,000 additional families are eligible for more Child Care Subsidy hours this year.

The number of families eligible for three days of subsidised care is up by 15 per cent.

The 3 Day Guarantee replaces the Coalition’s Activity Test, which cut families off from early learning if they didn’t work enough hours.

It was bad for children, bad for mums trying to return to work gradually, and bad for lower income families relying on insecure work, who were locked out.

We’ve fixed that. 

Because these children’s developmental needs matter just as much as any other child’s. And we’re making sure they don’t miss out.

I’ve spoken to many parents who say it’s already made a world of difference.

And I’ve heard the words stability, and certainty and connection over and again in these conversations.

Take Courtney, from Melbourne, who’s been able to pick up an extra day of early learning – and an extra day of work.

She feels more stable in her job, and her one-year-old daughter Kiara is thriving – and developing some very adorable social skills.

Or Sheldon, a dad whose three-year-old daughter Florence attends Gowrie Broadmeadows Valley.

Before the 3 Day Guarantee, Florence could only do two days.

This year, she’s doing an extra day of early learning – and her dad says they’ve really seen benefits for her language development and how settled she is at the centre.

Parents have told me over and again how the opportunity of three consistent days has helped their children feel connected to early learning and to the educators delivering it.

It is of course that connection which generates the positive outcomes that early learning builds.

Importantly, the 3 Day Guarantee also means cost of living relief for these families.

It’s taking that little bit of strain off household budgets.

For many families earning $50,000 to $100,000, this means they save about $1500 a year.

That’s on top of our Cheaper Child Care reforms, which continue to save families thousands of dollars each year.

These are tangible, practical reforms that are changing lives for the better.

For Indigenous families, we’ve guaranteed eligibility for five days of Child Care Subsidy.

And I want to thank SNAICC’s CEO Catherine Liddle for your advocacy in this area.

As you’ve rightly pointed out, this is life-changing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families who previously couldn’t access the care they needed.

We want Indigenous children to be supported from their youngest years. 

We want them to be developmentally ready for school – just like we want that for every other Australian child.

I’ve heard from Koulla in Darwin. 

She’s a single mum to three First Nations children. 

She’s a nurse at Royal Darwin Hospital.

And while she devotes her career to caring for others, she deserves support to care for her own children too. 

So we’re backing Koulla and her children through the 3 Day Guarantee.

And we’re backing Indigenous families in regional and remote areas too. 

I visited Derby in the Kimberley earlier this year to announce a new centre we’re building for that town in partnership with the West Australian Government, the Minderoo Foundation and the Ngunga Women’s Group.

I spoke to mums like Kacey, whose children are benefiting from playgroups, but there is currently no appropriate early learning in town.

Kacey’s got another little one on the way – and because she’s already seen the benefits of play-based learning, she just couldn’t wait to send her next child to an early learning centre. 

Our new Derby Early Learning and Family Centre is Closing the Gap in action.  

Engaging First Nations communities, listening to them, and delivering what matters most to them.

Our $1 billion Building Early Education Fund is building more centres where Australian families need them most, including in those outer suburbs and regional areas that have so often been underserved.

Areas where children living in lower socio-economic communities have the most to benefit from early learning.

We have now signed agreements with most of the States and Territories to build more quality not-for-profit early learning centres together. 

That means more centres from communities like Bruny Island in Tasmania all the way up to Yorkeys Knob in Queensland. 

The majority of these new not-for-profit centres are co-located with schools.

And anyone here who’s had to do the double-drop off – I don’t need to tell you what a difference this will make. 

Having early learning and school next door to each other is also good for children.

They can see the big school, they can maybe spot a sibling through the fence, and they can envisage themselves putting on that big kid uniform one day.

It helps our littlest learners transition to school.

As I’ve visited some of these sites, it’s clear this will be great for children.

A few weeks ago, I went to Rosewood State School in Ipswich in Queensland, which is about to get a new early learning centre through our fund.

I spoke to the principal, Georgia O’Shea, and she told me that, at the moment, under a third of the children starting school there have gone to early learning.

She can pick them a mile off.

They’re more ready for school. 

They’ve developed the social skills.

They’ve learnt how to share. 

They already love learning.

She’s hoping that with our new early learning service on site, many more families and children will reap the benefits. 

Georgia’s community is exactly where we want more children to have the opportunity of early education. 

As we look to that delivery of a quality universal system, the natural next step is consultation on a national Early Education and Care Commission.

That consultation is starting now.

I want to shout out Georgie Dent from The Parenthood here, who was with me to announce this last week, along with Sam Page from the Early Childhood Australia.

Georgie has long advocated for the importance of an Early Education and Care Commission. 

She calls it a once in a generation opportunity.

You’ll be hearing from her next, so I congratulate you for your work to date on this.

And I know you’re not alone in wanting this. 

To all those who have been advocating too – We hear you.

And we know a Commission could strengthen and connect the early learning sector and create a shared base of knowledge.

It could help ensure centres are built where families need them most.

And it could guide the path towards universal early education and care. 

But if we want this to work, we have to get it right. 

That’s why we’re working with the States and Territories, and getting input from providers, unions, peak bodies and other stakeholders on exactly what this should look like.

Together, our reforms are putting the building blocks of universal early education and care in place.

Universal early education and care is good quality.

You can afford it.

And you can find it in your neighbourhood.

And as you can see, we are well on the way to building that system.

An early learning system that will transform the lives of more children.

An early learning system that will help more families thrive.

That offers families real, practical support.

Concrete options they can rely on.

The Coalition, on the other hand, likes to talk about choice.

It’s a word we’ve heard from them a lot.

Angus Taylor said they were going to ‘champion choice’.

They even made my counterpart the ‘Shadow Minister for Choice in Childcare’. 

And last night, Angus Taylor had a choice.

A choice about whether to actually announce something that would help families with children in early learning.

To tell us how they’d create more choice.

But after all that positioning, it seems he forgot to announce the policy.

So all we have to go on is the Coalition’s record.

In those ten years of drift and decline, they chose to let educators leave the sector in droves.

They chose to let fees skyrocket.

They chose to cut children off, instead of including more.

They chose to ignore communities crying out for early learning services.

Because it’s easier to ignore problems than do the real work of real reform.

In contrast, Labor is committed to building an early learning system that won’t just be there for the next family, it’ll be there for the next generation. And the generation after that.

Over the coming year, we’ll be opening more centres, in more places, for more children.

We’ll strengthen the sector, with children’s wellbeing at the heart of everything we do.

We’ll support more children and families with our 3 Day Guarantee.

We’ll work on the next stages of reform – including a Commission.

And we’ll continue to help our youngest Australians get a great start in life that sets them up to do amazing things. 

The Prime Minister’s ambition for quality universal early education and care is in the great Labor tradition.

Transformative.

Nation-building.

A tradition that, in the spirit of Ben Chifley, recognises that governments can and should create security and opportunity for all, starting with our nation’s children.