Shayne Neumann
Blair · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“The new service will be built at Rosewood State School to help local families avoid the double drop-off in the morning—and in the afternoon, I might add—and help students to make a smoother transition to school.”
“It builds on our landmark schools funding agreement with the Queensland government to provide a record $2.8 billion in additional Commonwealth funding to Queensland state schools over the next 10 years, all tied to reforms to lift education standards.”
“The second capital upgrade involved $850,000 for a new custom amenities block at Linville State School, a little country school in the northern Somerset region, which has delivered modern facilities to ensure students' health and safety needs are met.”
“Labor is the party of education. The Albanese Labor government is building the education infrastructure we need in my electorate and building a better and fairer education system from preschool to tertiary.”
“An upgrade to the Mount Crosby interchange on the Warrego Highway is critical to the lives, lifestyle and livelihoods of the people of Ipswich. Last night, I was appalled to hear media reports that the Queensland LNP government is proposing in this week's budget to cut funding for the Mount Crosby interchange in my electorate.”
“I remember being in this House, in this parliament, when the coalition voted against the natural disaster funding, much of which was going to local councils in Queensland. It cost $11 billion of taxpayers' funding to rebuild Queensland after the 2011 floods.”
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“The legislation here is about better equipping the regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, or ACMA, with the necessary tools or weapons—if I can put it like that—and powers to protect telco consumers and hold companies to account if they do the wrong thing. We are implementing some new rules to better support consumers who've experienced financial hardship, prioritising keeping consumers connected and requiring those telecommunications companies to offer specific assistance, such as payment plans. More recently, we've directed ACMA to make rules to better support people who are experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence. It's something that is near and dear to my heart, having worked as a family lawyer for 20 years before I came to this place.”
“There was a 12.8 per cent rise in complaints from small business following four consecutive quarters of decline and a spike in 3G shutdown complaints in October to November 2024. And there continue to be regular high-profile incidents in the telecommunications sector—and even low-profile instances that really frustrate people like those who live in Kilcoy or, indeed, in Toogoolawah, where there've been ongoing issues with connectivity that people like Beryce Nelson and others have contacted me about. This is why we've been actively reviewing the telecommunications consumer protection framework and making the appropriate changes.”
“Places in my electorate—like Spring Mountain, Deebing Heights, Ripley Valley, Springfield Central, Springfield Lakes, Redbank Plains and Riverview—have very large multicultural communities. They want to communicate with their families and friends not just around Australia but overseas, so access to good telecommunications is absolutely critical. Telco services should enrich people's lives. They shouldn't cause inconvenience, frustration and harm. The reality is many people face significant costs, and this includes being able to afford critical communications services like mobile phone and internet services. The latest data from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman shows that complaints to them rose by 13 per cent from October to December 2024 compared to the previous quarter.”
“I've met many people over the years who have told me they go into their offices in Ipswich or Toowoomba or Brisbane, but they live in the rural parts of my electorate and also work from home. When those things cannot happen, it makes it very, very difficult. The Albanese government understands that people face vulnerable circumstances like floods, bushfires and cyclones. We know that people live in our regions. I know the majority of Australians live in capital cities and surrounds, but many Australians live in regional areas as well, and I'm proud to represent a regional and rural seat. First Nations Australians also live in these areas. In my electorate, about one in 10 people are First Nations. They rely just as much on connectivity to communicate with other people, as, certainly, do multicultural communities.”
“People who live in places like Somerset deserve as much support, in terms of their telecommunications, and similar access to reliable broadband and mobile phones that work as people in Sydney. Somerset should be treated the same as Sydney. The legislation we're looking at today is important because we want every Australian to have access to quality and affordable telecommunications services. But we need the legislative backing, the regulatory backing, behind it, and we need a framework that safeguards consumers. We all want to stay connected. We know it's an essential part of everyday life, as I said before, and we understand how critical these telecommunications services are for everyone. Country towns that get cut off during floods and natural disasters need access to these services for daily operations.”
“This legislation before the chamber, the Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2025, is about putting consumers right at the centre of the telecommunications industry. I saw that as recently as the last couple of months in relation to the problems of mobile coverage when upgrades were being made by Telstra in and around Kilcoy. As I said to Telstra, there were problems including inadequate notification, delays and lack of communication with businesses, schools, consumers and residents. It's a problem if providers don't communicate well. It's no good just putting an ad in the newspaper; you've got to actually communicate and be on the ground.”
“The increased speeds will provide smoother streaming, faster downloads and uploads, and stronger connections. We've also seen some fixed-wireless upgrades in my electorate which have delivered increased average end user download speeds for households, from around 40 megabits per second in 2022 to 100 megabits per second today. Using the latest 4G and 5G wireless technology has enabled about 120,000 premises across the country to access fixed wireless for the first time. I commend the Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, in relation to that. That $480 million upgrade complements our nation-building investment to deliver world-class NBN fibre network backed by an additional $3 billion in equity investment.”
“It's all part of our Peri-Urban Mobile Program, and I congratulate Waveconn, who will be rolling out new mobile phone towers and other infrastructure at sites in Ripley, Central Eden's Crossing, Redbank Plains and Springfield Lakes to boost mobile reception in those locations and surrounds. It's part of a $40.9 million commitment to 47 projects around the country. We know how important it is. Having the NBN upgrades is critical. I've seen this recently with the Albanese government's upgrades to the NBN's fixed-wireless and satellite services at 8,300 premises. People in areas like Toogoolawah, Coominya, Esk, Pine Mountain, Mount Hallen, Mount Tarampa, Haigslea, Wivenhoe Pocket, Hazeldean, Moore and Prenzlau will be able to access broadband speeds of at least 100 megabits per second.”
“It's tough in regional and rural areas, and it's tough in the periurban fringe where the bush meets the suburbs. These areas have historically been underserviced because of the high cost of deploying infrastructure, difficult terrain, planning challenges and low population densities. Australia's a big place. I represent a large electorate and I know that building that infrastructure is important. But the consumer protection in this legislation is really critical. This gives me an opportunity to mention the fact that the Albanese Labor government is investing in new mobile phone infrastructure in Ripley, Redbank Plains and Springfield.”
“All Australians need access to fast and reliable connectivity, whether or not it's the NBN. They need access so their sons and daughters can prepare for school assignments or exams. Whether you're a farmer living in the Somerset region or rural Ipswich needing access to the internet for accurate and fast email so that you can deal with your customers, producers and fellow farmers, or whether you're running a business, living and operating in Ipswich, we all need this sort of support. We also need mobile phones that actually operate and connect with one another. I saw that in the aftermath of Cyclone Alfred, where people lost power and lost the ability to charge their phones. They lost the capacity to communicate with the outside world using their phones.”
“I'd urge the insurance companies to listen to those recommendations of the House of Representatives inquiry chaired by the member for Fraser's report, Flood failure to future fairness . Act on that. I want there to be no absence of future fairness in the way the insurance companies deal with our local area. I want to thank everyone, and we've pulled hard together. My office is there. I'm here to help anyone that's been affected.”
“Of course we have the DRFA, the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, and that funding is available as well. I'd urge anyone who's been flooded and affected by that to reach out to my office on 0732015300. I urge anyone to look at help. There are a lot of people in our local community who are doing a lot of good work. Just because they weren't inundated and the water didn't come into their home or their unit—and I've met many people who've had that happen—there are people who've had food spoilage, power outage and wind damage and rain damage from the cyclone, with water ingress particularly entering through roofs, doors and windows. That's impacted them, and that's why there are claims.”
“The school in Lowood was used by the Somerset Regional Council. The coordination and help between all levels of government was phenomenal. I also want to thank the Minister for Emergency Management, Jenny McAllister. Her office and the way she communicated in a bipartisan way to everyone were fantastic. I can't talk enough about how important NEMA is in terms of evacuation, coordination and recovery. I know that there's people still doing it tough in my community, and we have provided assistance. I would urge anyone in Ipswich, Somerset and the Karana Downs region to reach out. We have the Australian government disaster recovery payments available if you've been flooded and suffered major damage to your home or your assets. It's $1,000 for adults and $400 for children.”
“The floodwaters nearly got into Ipswich basketball's stadium again. Poor Toni Calwell, the president, was stuck on her farm and couldn't get back; fortunately, she and her family were safe. I also want to thank the councils in Ipswich, in Brisbane and particularly in Somerset for the work they did and the emergency management—the leadership shown by mayors, councillors and CEOs, as well as the work of council staff. The council staff do a fantastic job. They're multi-talented. We don't pay them enough. We really don't. The way they get in, help and volunteer in the work they do with the places of refuge and evacuation. I was pleased with the $6 million we're providing for Ipswich Showgrounds—that's the main evacuation centre and place of refuge. That was again open, and people went to it.”
“I thank them for what they do. They really provide friendship and fellowship and great assistance in terms of mental health as well. The Ipswich Knights Football Club's football fields and fencing et cetera were badly damaged. It was great to deal with people like Troy Beahan from the club and to provide volunteer assistance to help them clean up on a Saturday. For the Blackstone United Dragons Football Club, I want to thank Rod's Towing in particular, for the relocation of the equipment container. It's just simply a massive equipment container. It was put back in its proper place. It had damaged the football fields, the goal posts, the fencing and a whole range of things. It goes to show: you just can't go in floodwaters. As they say: if it's flooded, forget it. It's too dangerous. The force of the floodwaters makes a huge impact.”
“We also had intrastate people, from the Townsville SES, come down, and interstate people from South Australia and elsewhere, and from local areas, like Marburg, Rosewood, Esk and Goodna and others—SES volunteers—come down and help around Ipswich as well. They just did a mighty job, as did the rural fire brigades, the police, the emergency management, the local hospitals—particularly Ipswich Hospital—as well. The damage is going to be about $1.1 billion, or more. I think it will be more, as time goes by. We saw businesses inundated around West Ipswich and Bundamba and places like that. There's the Ipswich Men's Shed. I was pleased to provide them a morning tea after they'd cleaned up. I want to thank Terry Carter and the whole crew down there. The Ipswich Men's Shed is the biggest Men's Shed in the whole region.”
“There are other people who are still looking for assistance to have their homes resumed, voluntarily, by the local council, so that they can be in a situation where there are no floods in the future. I want to pay tribute to the Ipswich SES. I was pleased to put on a barbecue and provide food for them, as they were working during the floods and in the aftermath of the floods. The SES—the State Emergency Service—is a magnificent organisation. It's a volunteer organisation. They give help and assistance, in terms of staging, logistics, coordination, planning, warning people and evacuating people.”
“They're people in my home city of Ipswich, where I was born and raised and have lived all my life and raised a family and worked. They're in places like Bergins Hill Road and Videroni Street and Lindsay Street. They were flooded again, and I met people as I doorknocked those areas. I want to pay tribute to the many people who've helped them. I want to pay tribute to the Salvation Army at Bundamba; to the Malayali friends, as they call themselves; and to the various associations around Ipswich. They provided great support—for example, to one particular family, who were seeking refugee status in Australia, on Bergins Hill Road. These are people who have been living in these communities. I mentioned Bundamba. That's where I went to high school, at Bundamba State Secondary College, so I know the area well.”
“In my electorate, Blair, when I was a kid in 1974, in my parents' house the water was eight feet over the roof. I've had to deal with, as a federal MP, floods—in descending order of devastation—in 2011, 2022, 2013 and now 2025. We've got nearly 1,300 homes and businesses and cars where there are insurance claims, according the Insurance Council of Australia, in my electorate. There's the damage to roads, bridges, parks, footpaths and community infrastructure. The federal government and the state government are going to have to work very hard with local councils, like Ipswich, Somerset and Brisbane, to repair that. But it's also the damage to and the impact on people's lives—the devastation. I know of and have met people who've been flooded in flood after flood after flood—the ones I've referred to before.”
“As a kid, in 1974 Cyclone Wanda came in from the north and crossed near Maryborough. On 25 January 1974 floods came up from the south and smashed South-East Queensland. I mention Cyclone Wanda because Cyclone Alfred came in about 50 years later. In South-East Queensland places like Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and Ipswich were a lot smaller in those days. Nearly one in six people in the country are living in South-East Queensland, so it's a lot more densely populated. We don't normally get cyclones in South-East Queensland, but the impact and the aftermath of that one were very untimely, when you consider the fact that we are still dealing with the aftermath of the 2022 floods. We're now dealing with the aftermath and the flood impact and the cyclonic impact of Cyclone Alfred in South-East Queensland.”
“It's commonly said that the Brisbane River is a river with a city problem. If you actually have a look at where the cities and towns in South-East Queensland are established, they're on the main rivers. We don't call the places in and around Brisbane the Lockyer Valley and the Brisbane Valley for nothing. There are rivers and creeks that lead into Brisbane River that cause enormous damage. They've become part of emergency management folklore—things like the Lockyer Creek, Bundamba Creek, Bremer River et cetera. South-East Queensland has had massive floods over the years. The photos from places like Ipswich and Brisbane show that the impact in 1893was enormous. The water levels from 1893 would mean that, in my office in Riverlink Shopping Centre, in the old Tarpaulin Building, we'd be sort of swimming on level 1.”
“With the member for Oxley, I was there when that funding was announced, which includes $4 million for the Queensland African Communities Council's very successful African village project, which includes the African youth centre in Redbank Plains in Ipswich in the electorate of Oxley, very close to the electorate of Blair. This year people in my electorate of Blair will face a clear choice: a choice between Labor's plan to build Australia's future or the opposition leader's promised cut to the things that Australians rely upon. That is the choice for my constituents: build with Labor or cut with the LNP.”
“The Better and Fairer Schools Agreement will lift the federal government's contribution from 20 per cent up to 25 per cent of the school resource standards by 2034 for public schools in Queensland, including in Blair, which is a fantastic outcome for local schoolkids. Critically, as part of the fastest-growing region in the country, this budget will deliver vital transport and community infrastructure. To that end, the government has locked in $20 million in funding for the Brisbane Valley Highway upgrades in the Sommerset, bringing the Australian government's total commitment to $40 million. Also, we are supporting local multicultural communities with a $20 million investment in African-Australian communities.”
“The government's expanded Help to Buy program will help allocate money to the states on a per capita basis with a minimum of 8,200 places estimated to be available to Queensland over the life of the scheme, and I would expect a number of these places will be allocated to my electorate. The government has already helped locals buy their own homes with more than 4,200 guarantees issued to Ipswich homebuyers under the government's expanded Home Guarantee Scheme between May 2022 and March 2025, one of the highest take-ups across the country. In more good news this week, the Albanese government signed a $2.8 billion school funding agreement with the Queensland government.”
“This will save locals hundreds of dollars a year, depending on how often they visit their GP. For example, a young family with two parents in their 30s and two children under five years old could save from $236 to $296 a year. On top of this, our Ipswich Medicare urgent care clinic is providing bulk-billed care for Blair constituents closer to home when they need it. I'm proud to have opened this clinic in 2023, which has been a huge success, with more than 12,500 visits in the first year alone. It is helping to take the pressure of the Ipswich general hospital emergency department. When it comes to student debt, 23,000 people in Blair with an outstanding HECS debt will receive an average reduction of $5,357 on their loans. I'm pleased to say this budget is providing vital support to housing affordability.”
“In great news, every household in Blair will receive an extra $150 in help for their power bills, along with eligible small businesses, building on previous rounds of energy bill relief. Locals will save, from the government's reduction of the maximum general copayment for medicines, $25 per prescription under the Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme from 1 January 2026. This means that more than 42,000 cheaper scripts are expected to be dispensed on average each year in Blair, saving residents more than $1.5 million. Further to this, our record $8.5 billion investment in Medicare is expected to see an additional 117,700 bulk-billed visits and a boost to fully bulk-billing GP practices in Blair to around 35, around four times the current nine practices.”
“This budget provides responsible cost-of-living relief for working families in my community, while building a strong economy for everyone in Blair. The budget delivers new help with cost-of-living relief, including more tax cuts for every taxpayer, more energy bill relief for every household and small business, more bulk-billing to help Australians to see a GP for free, even cheaper medicines, more cuts to HECS debts, historic funding for schools and more help to get Australians into a home of their own. As part of this budget, all 80,000 taxpayers in Blair will receive a new tax cut of up to $268 in 2026-27 and up to $536 in 2027-28. Combined with Labor's first run of tax cuts, the average benefit for taxpayers in my electorate will be almost $2,500 by 2027-28.”
“We'll back small business. Those opposite cannot even see a small business that they would support today. There are 1.5 million small businesses today that did not get the tax cut they deserved.”
“They're the people—in regional Queensland and around the country—serving the public. But there are 40,000 on the chopping block if those opposite get the chance. I say to the public servants around the country who have been helping us in the aftermath of cyclones, bushfires and floods that we've got your back and we will support you. The Liberal and National parties will cut your jobs. As they look to their spiritual guiders in America, they will cut your jobs. What will we do? We'll Invest in education. We'll cut your HECS debt. We will provide support for child care. We will reduce the childcare costs for families. We will cut taxes. We will bring down inflation, as we have been doing, and we'll make wages rise, improve productivity and improve economic growth in the country. We'll build a fairer society and a more responsible society.”
“They're the frontline workers from Services Australia that are helping people in South-East Queensland in the aftermath of Cyclone Alfred and the veterans assessors in the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Those opposite let the veterans entitlements claims fly out to 43,000—they were out of date. They could not actually look at the claims for months and months. We had to put on 500 extra public servants to deal with the claims. During question time today the Minister for Veterans' Affairs articulated what we've done in this space. The Liberal and National parties would cut those public savants. They all don't live, by the way, here in Canberra. We like the member for Fenner, but they don't all live here in Canberra. They live in Toowoomba, Ipswich, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns.”
“But that's what the Liberal and National parties do—they do not support workers or tax cuts. They opposed energy bill relief. Who can forget what they did in 2022, in opposing that. Today they say, 'We won't stand in the way,' but they don't actually support it. They don't actually support energy bill relief for families in the country. What we're doing is making sure that we're building, not cutting. Those opposite would cut the NEMA workers who helped us in South-East Queensland in the cyclones and floods—the public servants there on the frontline helping people get $1,000 and $400 for their kids, in the Australian government disaster recovery payment.”
“The biggest-taxing governments in the history of the Commonwealth of Australia were Liberal and National party governments—Howard's and, of course, Morrison's. This is what they do. They claimed that were going to deliver a surplus in their first year and every year thereafter. What have we done? We've delivered two surpluses. We've delivered historic funding for Medicare. We have lifted the wages of Australia's lowest-paid workers. The lowers-paid workers in this country will get $143 more a week as a result of the work that we have done in supporting minimum wage rises and investing in aged care and child care by supporting those industries and getting wages up. Those opposite never saw a wage rise they didn't want to oppose. The never once supported a minimum wage rise.”
“I count three of them over there. That's how important this MPI is. What we know today from the Liberals and National Party about how they believe the economy should work is simply diametrically opposed to their patron and spiritual leader, Robert Menzies. These two parties, the Liberals and Nationals, are blocking help for small business. Today 1.5 million small businesses, by the way, could have got the help that they need, because they are actually taxpayers. They are sole traders. They could have got tax cuts today, two tranches of them, but the opposition opposed it today. When they were in government, they never saw a budget where they didn't deliver a deficit and increased debt.”
“This responsible budget is about building a better and fairer future for Australia. In this budget there are more tax cuts for every taxpayer. That's 14 million of them around the country. There's more energy bill relief for every household and for small business. There's more bulk-billing, which will help Australians to see a GP for free. We have more cuts for the 23,000 people in my electorate who have HECS debts and we have historic funding for schools like Bremer State High School and Ipswich State High School in the electorate of Blair. We have more help to get Australians in a home of their own. That will help in suburbs like Spring Mountain and Ripley Valley in the city of Ipswich in my electorate. But then, of course, we have those opposite. They are really keen on this MPI, because there are so few of them!”
“We've also allocated $3.8 million for the Ipswich Central Heart project under the Urban Precincts and Partnerships Program to support the Ipswich Art Gallery, Ipswich Civic Centre, planning, cycling and CBD redevelopment for Ipswich. At the same time, I know many people in my community are doing it tough. We have been working hard to make it easier for people to tackle inflation, providing much-needed cost-of-living relief through tax cuts, energy rebates, cheaper child care, cheaper medicines, paid parental leave, free TAFE and getting wages moving. Those opposite, the LNP, have opposed every one of them.”
“On top of our record boost to rent assistance and investments in social and affordable housing, we have been helping more locals to buy their own homes with more than 4,200 guarantees issued to Ipswich homebuyers under the government's expanded Home Guarantee Scheme—one of the highest rates of take-up across the country. The Albanese Labor government knows how important it is to provide local community infrastructure for our growing Ipswich and Somerset regions. That's why we've allocated $5 million for two projects: the Toogoolawah Gateway Centre for a new library and medical facilities and the Mount Glen Rock Hiking Trail in Esk along the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail in the Somerset region under the Thriving Suburbs Program.”
“I've always fought for better health services for our community. That's why I've been so proud to open the Ipswich Medicare Urgent Care Clinic and the Medicare Mental Health Centre in Ipswich, which both provide bulk-billed care for locals when they need it, taking pressure off the Ipswich Hospital Emergency Department. We also rolled out $2.5 million for the Kambu Health Service to support our local Indigenous community, particularly children and families; and $5 million—or more—for the Ipswich veterans and families hub to provide support for the growing number of local veterans and their families. Labor is determined to help more locals in Blair to build, buy and rent.”
“Blair is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. That's why the Albanese Labor government has been rolling out support for infrastructure in health services, housing, and community and sporting facilities. Firstly, we committed $138.5 million to upgrade the busy Mount Crosby Road interchange, duplicating the interchange, and $42.5 million for the Bremer River Bridge strengthening on the Warrego Highway. We announced $20 million towards planning vital upgrades along the Cunningham Highway, including the Amberley intersection. This is on top of the $12.5 million of funding for the next stage of the Ipswich Motorway upgrade, $3.4 million of funding the Ipswich to Springfield rail line business case, and the $20 million of funding for the Brisbane Valley Highway safety upgrades under the South-East Queensland City Deal.”
“They should have a talk to their friends in the National Farmers Federation. On 5 February 2025, the National Farmers Federation, in a statement, said: We implore the Coalition to match Labor's $1bn 'building early education fund' to build more than 160 new childcare centres. Well, I say: how about the National Party listen to the National Farmers Federation for once.”
“Now, I mentioned Goodstart before. We have some tremendous Goodstart centres in my area. The CEO, Dr Ros Baxter, said it would change lives and boost our productivity, ensuring Australian children don't fall behind. We've seen respected people like the BCA executive director of policy, Wendy Black, saying, 'Affordable, accessible quality child care will lead to long-term economic benefits and improve outcomes.' The Parenthood CEO, Georgie Dent, said, 'Today is the day I've been hanging out professionally for the last four years and seven months.' We have so many people. The National Party should be supporting this. I can't believe they are not supporting it in Queensland. I can't believe they're not supporting this stuff. We've got the National Farmers Federation.”
“The Productivity Commission, which is usually quite libertarian or neoliberal in its perspective, recommended the Australian government invest in addressing the gaps through grant funding and, indeed, by retaining ownership of services. The Productivity Commission recommended this, yet those opposite can't even bring themselves to support it. We have the National Farmers Federation supporting it. The coalition have said they're going to get rid of it. They've railed against it; in December 2024, the shadow Treasurer railed against it. They claim that it's something the country can't afford. The shadow Treasurer should listen to his backbenchers, who say we should be doing something like this—just not what we're doing. They've criticised our commitment, yet, if you listen to their speeches closely, they are saying exactly the opposite.”
“Goodstart has done a lot of good work in that area, and I've seen so many community kindergartens. We have fantastic community kindergartens in my electorate in places like Cribb Street and Milford Street, where I grew up. I went to that particular kindergarten near Queens Park; it's my old kindy. Recently, they celebrated about 85 years in operation. They're a fantastic community run kindy. These places are so important. The number of prominent citizens in our community who come from these places is important. I've been to these centres. They understand how important a universal early education and care system is. I want the other side to know that the Productivity Commission inquiry into the ECEC system found that we had an undersupply of places and that there was a barrier to access for families across the country.”
“I think those opposite should listen to the Labor MPs who've been making speeches here, because many centres are going to be located in regional and rural areas. I have the honour and privilege of representing a regional and rural electorate in South-East Queensland. I've got plenty of country areas in my electorate. I've got booming suburbs like Springfield, Ripley and South Ripley. The average age of the people in those suburbs is in the mid-20s. They're just booming. Ipswich's population hit 260,000 in the last quarter of last year; it's probably close to 270,000 now. All those suburbs around Ipswich and country towns like Lowood and Fernvale are growing so rapidly. The development around Walloon and Rosewood in rural Ipswich is phenomenal, as is the number of childcare centres that are being built in these areas.”
“There's $1.03 billion for the Building Early Education Fund that I referred to in the business case; $427 million for the three-day guarantee, which I described earlier; and $10 million to develop the early education service delivery price. As previous speakers have talked about, this, of course, has come about because of the Productivity Commission's and the ACCC's reports on early education. I thought those opposite liked the Productivity Commission, because they've quoted it plenty of times in the past in this chamber. The Productivity Commission knows that it's good economic sense to invest in early education. They know how important it is. It's really critical. The fund that I referred to before is going to build on and expand around 160 of the early childhood education and care centres. We're going to focus on those.”
“As part of the Building Early Education Fund package I described earlier, we're developing the early education service delivery price to make sure that we have a better understanding of the cost of delivery around the country and where the services are needed, to make sure that we can underpin future reform that needs to happen in the country. You can't set and forget. That's what those opposite did—'set and forget' for nine years. In fact, they didn't even set; they just let it go, for nine years. So we're doing this. The package that this legislation is part of is really important. It represents a $1.47 billion investment, over five years, in our future. That's a big commitment. Those opposite are opposing it.”
“The three-day guarantee is going to replace the current activity test, which is the bane of parents, by the way, with guaranteed eligibility for three days a week of subsidised early education for children who need it. We know that every child has the right to go to school, and it's a tragedy that parents don't facilitate and support that. Truancy is a terrible detriment to kids' education. Going to school, going to classrooms and learning in the classrooms are so, so important. But we want to make sure that that guarantee—that right, I might add—to go to school is extended for kids in their early years. We want to make sure that the right is not just to go to school but to go to early education too. We're going to make sure that, when they start school, they're not left behind, and we're doing this.”
“This particular fund is going to deliver grants to providers, and the government will explore options to invest in owning and leasing out services. But those opposite say we haven't got enough childcare centres. The government's building a fund to do it, and yet they're railing against it. We're focusing on co-locating those services at school sites to prevent the double drop off. We're going to support the growth of high-quality, not-for-profit providers. We want to make sure that's the case. Now, what are we going to do here? It's really important. What we're going to do specifically in this bill is guarantee three days of high-quality early education.”
“But we're doing a policy that's building more centres—and building and expanding them in areas of need. I mention the Liberal and National parties in rural and regional Australia. We're doing this in outer suburbs and regional Australia. We're doing the very thing they're saying we're not doing! It's the very thing that they can't come up with a policy to do. We want to make sure there's universal child care in this country and that it's simple, affordable, accessible and high quality. That's what we want to do. We want to make sure that kids can get guaranteed three-day high-quality early education and care, because it will change their lives. It will change their lives and give them the best start in life.”
“We're taking steps to make sure that early education and the care system is expanded. We want quality early education around the country. For a long time, people in our country thought that early education was simply child care. It's not. It's giving kids the best start in life. We all know. I'm a parent and a grandparent. I know how important those early years are for kids to learn and socialise: social inclusion, cooperating with one another, learning new concepts—numbers, the alphabet, reading and writing. Most kids, if they're getting a good education, can learn these basic concepts really, really well. It's about education. We're establishing a $1 billion building early education fund to roll out from July 2025. We're building more centres. Those opposite criticise us, because they can't find enough centres.”
“Those opposite were railing against them, and they've railed against the second lot. It's quite extraordinary from the Liberal and National members opposite. The Grattan Institute research has consistently shown that supporting women's workforce participation through cheaper child care is one of the best things you can do to grow the country's GDP. The Liberal and National parties claim that they're in favour of economic development—the parties of capitalism and free enterprise—but, when you give them an opportunity to support the growth of the economy and support participation of women in the workforce to grow businesses small and large, they vote against it; they oppose it. It's total inconsistency. We've announced this policy. We did it last year, in December.”