Our early childhood educators do nation-building, life-changing work every single day, and they deserve to be paid better for what they do for Australian families and for our country. Now, because they have a Labor government, they will be. Our government is funding a 15 per cent wage increase for our early childhood educators across Australia—those educators who do the most important work in the education cycle of a child, whose work has the ability to change the trajectory of a life of a child and whose work means that early interventions happen for children. These workers do an extraordinary job for the little minds they look after, not to mention the support they provide for families like mine, ensuring that mum and dad can work and be productive and participating members of our economy.

This wage rise is well overdue for these workers, who felt let down and shut out during the pandemic and who have marched in the streets across our country for years, calling for a wage rise and calling for recognition for the critical caring work they do. Immediately, in December, when the first part of this measure comes in, this will mean about $100 a week for these educators. Later, it will be closer to $150 a week. That means an awful lot to these educators who do such an incredible job and, importantly, it will be linked to limits in fee increases for the centres who apply to it, meaning that families don't face higher fees because of this measure.

These workers do life-changing work. Our economy and our productivity depend on participation and depend on the work that they do, not to mention the future of our youngest Australians. This is an incredible thing which could only ever be achieved by a Labor government.