House of Representatives Chamber (part 2 of 2)
8 September 2026
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House of Representatives Australian Parliament
00:00 - 03:10
Speaker 1
valuing their care. And for too long, Australia relied on the goodwill of a predominantly female workforce. We expected people to keep giving and giving because they cared, but care is not compensation, passion is not a substitute for decent wages, and devotion to children should never be an excuse for low pay. And this bill is about changing that. The federal budget in 2024 was a great budget for many reasons, but there was a moment when the Treasurer was delivering his speech that we saw in the packed public gallery a group of women start to become emotional and some of them were shedding tears because there was a budget measure that they saw as finally valuing their work and their place in our society.
And those women were all early childhood educators. And I really remember that moment because it was a reminder that the work we do in this place has such a profound impact on people's lives. And I went to a breakfast the next day that was organized by the Community Early Learning Australia, and Michele Carnegie was there speaking, and many of those early educators were still emotional about that change. And I think this is the important point, that they feel like they're finally being valued. And I thank Michele and CELA for all their work in advocating for this pay rise for early educators.
Because at the heart of this bill, it's a very simple Labor principle: if you do important work, you should be paid fairly for it. And there are few jobs more important than educating and caring for our youngest Australians. Every day, early educators help children learn, grow, and get ready for school. They build confidence, they help them make friends, they support families, and they make it possible for parents to go to work, study, or run a business. It's a skilled and demanding job, and for far too long it has been undervalued.
But it matters, and they matter to our Labor government, because dignity at work means decent wages. It means respect for skills, and it means recognizing people whose work holds our communities together. The previous coalition government had nine years to deal with workforce issues in the early childhood sector, yet it never delivered the sector-wide reforms early educators needed. So by the time Labor came to office, early educators were leaving in droves. Early childhood services were struggling to recruit, and they were closing.
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