Peter Khalil
Wills · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“Nationally, I think it's important to note that we've delivered multiple tax cuts, more bulk billing, five per cent deposits for people's first home, expanded parental leave and early education, free TAFE, 20 per cent off HECS and so much more.”
“We've backed local arts, schools, sports clubs and community organisations through all of the different federal government investments, grants and election commitments, which have been so critically important for those communities. In the environment, we've revitalised sections of Moonee Ponds Creek, which is the border of my electorate.”
“It was 10 years ago today that I had the great privilege of being elected as a member of Wills. In my first speech, I said that I was elected by the people of Wills to serve them and to make a difference in their lives. That sounds simple, but it is a really important commitment and promise.”
“It's one of the great privileges of my time in this place. In my first speech, I warned that we must beware of the demagogues and charlatans who take advantage of the disaffected and angry in our society and direct that anger towards minorities and refugees to stir up their own political ends. Sadly, that warning still pertains today.”
“But the fact is that 2.7 million businesses and 98 per cent of all businesses will be eligible for generous capital gains tax concessions. Why? Because these reforms are all about helping businesses invest, innovate and grow. That is because they are the backbone of our economy. We know that.”
“If you're a new business, if you're a startup, if you've got an idea and you want to transform that idea into something productive for the economy, we're making sure that we help unlock investors through those tax incentives to change that culture so people are willing and incentivised to invest in those new small businesses.”
The complete record
Every one of 285 lines we hold for Peter Khalil, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 6.
“I don't think any of us as MPs should be subjected to this kind of hate speech, but I want to really emphasise that our staff should not be subjected to that, nor should our volunteers be subjected to that. Ultimately, one can make the point that the voters rejected these disgusting tactics. This even goes for those people who didn't vote for us. So many people who I spoke to said, 'Well, Peter, I like you, but I'm voting for the Libs'—or, 'I'm voting for the Greens'—'but we think what's happening is disgusting.' I appreciated those people speaking to me in that way. This is not a question of whether you agree with the politics or the party or whatever; it's a question of what kind of society you want to live in and what you think is acceptable.”
“It is not right for my staff to be subjected to physical attacks where they basically had to be escorted by police out of their own electorate office. These are young men and women who are working every day to help people have a better life, as most MPs would understand. The work we do is to help people with their visas, with NDIS, with Centrelink or with whatever it might be. They're helping people. They don't deserve to be spat at or surrounded by a mob and to have to have a police escort to leave their own office. They don't deserve to arrive at their office to find chemical fumes from a hole drilled into the back of that office by activists the night before and to have to evacuate our electorate office for six to eight weeks while a hazmat team sorts it out. They don't deserve that.”
“But they can be free to express any view they want, and we can be free to disagree. It's navigating that difference that I think makes our democracy work. It's not just here in this place—this is the pointy end where we navigate difference in robust debate—but every day within our society and within our communities that people must find a way to get through their differences and navigate those differences without resorting to attacking someone else because of who they are. I would like to say that our campaign—and I can speak for the many people who volunteered and were part of that—rose above some of these petty hatreds that we experienced. I again want to thank those people for being able to conduct themselves with such grace and respect in the face of such unacceptable behaviour.”
“I think the length of the table in the House of Representatives chamber is the length of a sword, or longer than a sword, so that you can't reach over and do harm to your political opponent. The right to protest, though, is something that I've publicly stated again and again is a fundamental democratic principle and a democratic right of every Australian citizen. Every Australian has a right to freely express their views in public protest, and we should always support that 100 per cent. That's what I've tried to do. But I think it's important to note that with that great privilege in our democracy comes obligation as well—that people don't cross the line into attacking someone because of their ethnicity, faith, gender or sexuality, or whatever attribute, and they don't personalise in that respect.”
“But I wanted to just touch on something that wasn't fine and wasn't acceptable, and that is the violence and intimidation that we experienced and that many of our volunteers, supporters and staff experienced as well. Threats against staff and volunteers that were made at the prepoll, including death threats, are not normal. That's not acceptable and should never, ever be acceptable in our democracy. Physical violence and harassment of that nature are absolutely unacceptable. Every person in this country has a right to participate in our democratic processes freely and without risk of violence or intimidation of that sort. That is, I think, fundamental to our democracy as well. Our democracy is built on the idea that we resolve our disagreements through debate and voting and not at the end of a sword.”
“We did a lot of doorknocking and a lot of calling of people—tens of thousands of people—over that period of time in engaging with our community. As I said, it was a tough campaign, and we faced what were very significant obstacles over a long period of time. There was a redistribution. We can't fault the AEC; they're independent from us and they do their thing. But that cut the margin by five or six per cent in my electorate. We faced a very strong campaign from the Greens political party, throwing pretty much everything at us, including lots of money and resources and a full-time candidate, for over a year. That's all normal; that's fine.”
“They dedicate weeks, months and years to victory, and they do it in the smallest possible ways but in the most important possible ways: doorknocking, calling on phones, phone banking, and putting up signs and corflutes in front yards across the electorate. They work at prepoll—which was brutal, sitting there from 8 am to 6 pm every day for over two weeks—and they work on election day as well. They are what makes our democracy tick. I think all the members of parliament, whatever their political stripes—whether they be from whatever party they belong to or whether they be Independent—understand that the work these people do and the commitment they make forms the guts of our democracy. It's what makes it tick as well.”
“The work we do as a Labor government for the peoples of Australia right across this continent—whether it's to uplift First Nations peoples, whose ancestors have been here for over 60,000 years, or whether it is to support newly arrived Australians who've been here for 60 days—is about giving every single Australian an opportunity to fulfil their potential. All the volunteers, staff, Labor members and Labor supporters who worked on that campaign, I think, understood the core of that, which is that we are here and we have a special privilege being here, as members of parliament, to try and uplift the people that we represent, to give them a better life. Of course, you can't do that unless you win elections and get re-elected, and it is the work of those people—those volunteers and those supporters—that makes amazing victories happen.”
“These are important values, and they were articulated regularly by our prime minister during the campaign, before the campaign and at key moments. Part of the respect aspect was that there was this culture war and a debate about the acknowledgement of country. But acknowledgement to First Nations people is a profound mark of respect. Because of the work we do in this nation, we seek a more perfect union of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians across what is an ancient land. That respect is important.”
“Then there were people who kept the belief. They were true believers, in many respects. We did it against the odds. We did it in the face of what could be considered a barrage of sometimes seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We prevailed together because of those people who were so committed. I say thank you to each and every one of you, because you never gave up, you never took a backward step and you never stopped working for Wills. I say thank you, for us to be able to represent the people of Wills and work for Wills. There are a lot of people to thank. They know who they are, and I'll come to some of the individuals in a moment. One of the key themes in the campaign—particularly at the national level, all the way at the top—was the theme of kindness, compassion and respect.”
“The last election campaign feels like a long time ago now. I don't think it would be hyperbole to say that our particular campaign in Wills was one of the most difficult campaigns—remarkable in some respects—in recent Australian political history. It was tough campaign; I think that's the best way to put it. On that, I do want to thank a number of people who made such an amazing and remarkable commitment to such a tough campaign. All the Labor members, all of my staff, all of the supporters, all the people who were part of that Wills campaign—I want to say a really deep, strong thank you to them for everything they did. They should take great pride in the effort they made and in the commitment, the passion and the belief that they kept. We did it together. A lot of people wrote us off, with respect to winning or being re-elected in Wills.”
“Thanks to the Albanese government, from the beginning of next year, pharmacies will now dispense all PBS scripts for just $25, the same price as 2004. Sara was very happy about that, and many of her clients and customers were so happy about that. This is all part of our commitment to ease the cost-of-living pressures and strengthen Medicare. That's what we're doing—we're freezing the cost of the PBS medicines so people have greater access to the medicines they need when they need them, because no-one should be left behind when it comes to their health.”
“I will continue to fight for a fair, humane refugee policy that reflects the values of our diverse and our generous community, like the Grandmothers for Refugees. Also in my electorate, I have the incredible honour of representing the national Outstanding Community Pharmacist of the year for 2025. Her name is Sara Murdock. She's based at Pharmacy 777 in Pascoe Vale in the heart of my electorate. Sara is an amazing pharmacist. She's been recognised for her dedication to patient centred care, innovations in community health and a commitment to improving public health outcomes. I recently visited Sara for a health screening. She made sure I was fighting fit for my role in parliament. I'm not sure how well she did, but that's on me, I think.”
“That included a $54 million investment in establishing real-time priority processing of protection visa applications. That's a historic investment. That means most new protection applications are now decided almost eight times faster than those under the previous government. That means individuals and families, if owed protection, can move to permanent protection visas sooner, which, obviously, comes with access to essential services like Medicare, Centrelink and the NDIS as well. I've spoken over many years about the need for Australia to have a fair and a compassionate migration system. My electorate of Wills thrives due to the migration policies of many governments of the past, especially Labor governments. Our electorate is very diverse. It's multicultural, and 62 per cent of residents have at least one parent born overseas.”
“I recently had the pleasure of meeting with my local chapter of Grandmothers for Refugees, a community group in my electorate. The Grandmothers for Refugees were established in 2014. They're a group that advocates for fair treatment of refugees and for their visas. They're a wonderful group of women who are committed, who are passionate, who care, who advocate and who do the hard work. I share a lot of their passion, and I have throughout my parliamentary career and my work around refugee rights and for asylum seekers as well. That's why it was so great to welcome the Albanese government's commitment to a $160 million package of reforms to restore integrity to Australia's refugee protection system, providing a fair go to asylum seekers and helping break the business model of people who seek to exploit the system.”
“The more we strengthen and enhance our defence capability, the more we can build that global collective deterrence, which lessens the possibility of the factors that may lead to conflict, as I've said, but also, importantly, is a safeguard to what is beneficial to us and in our national interest, and that is the liberal rules based order—the set of rules of the road and international law which we and other countries abide by and which is beneficial to all of us as we trade with each other globally. We're delivering AUKUS.”
“We're talking about undersea capability, quantum technologies, AI, autonomy, advanced cybercapabilities, hypersonic capabilities, electronic warfare and so on. Our defence capability is about enhancing deterrence and avoiding conflict. The investment is to avoid going into conflict. I'm not sure how many in this place would know what percentage of GDP the defence spend was during World War II. Anyone? I'm looking for a heckler; I don't have one. You don't know. It was 38 per cent, because, in the midst of war and conflict, all of the nation's efforts and resources go into defending the nation. So an investment now in defence and defence capability and deterrence is an investment in avoiding conflict and war, because it deters others from seeking to change the strategic circumstances based on their use of force.”
“As the National Defence Strategy reconfirms, we confront the most challenging strategic circumstances since World War II, and we do so at a time when Australia's economic connection with the world has never been greater. Because of that, we clearly need to support the ADF with a much greater capacity to project so we can defend our nation and contribute to regional security and stability. Now, the AUKUS Pillar I investment in conventionally-armed nuclear-powered submarines is fundamental to this. It will ensure our ADF has a much greater capacity to project. Similarly, the fundamental purpose of Pillar II is to enhance our joint capabilities and our interoperability in what is also a massive scope. It spans technological, commercial and communication spheres.”
“AUKUS is a trilateral exchange that is so important—it's actually critical—to that strategic contest, giving us the capabilities to engage in that contest. The work that we do with the United States and with the United Kingdom to enhance our defence capability makes us an even more capable security partner. We will be able to make a better contribution to collective deterrence so that both state actors and non-state actors—adversaries—are deterred from pursuing their objectives with force or violence. AUKUS not only symbolises but substantiates the strength, unity and joint commitment to securing the peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. It is also, I think, a substantive joint commitment to democracy as a governance model—a model increasingly under threat in the contest that is underway against authoritarianism.”
“Since our first day in government, we have worked hard making Australia stronger in the world and safer at home. This is being manifested in the investment in our capability and in our development assistance, our diplomacy and our defence—what I call the three Ds, which work together as tools of statecraft. Australia does have an important role and responsibility to engage in our region and the wider world. We have a responsibility to collective deterrence and to ensuring we have the defence capabilities to protect the stability of the Indo-Pacific and the security and stability of our region, from which our prosperity as a trading nation flows. I agree, and I think most of us in this parliament would agree—make no mistake here—that we are in a global strategic contest. It's currently underway.”
“My electorate of Wills is home to many students. Wills, and the suburbs in the Wills electorate, is actually a choice for many students, because they can get to Melbourne uni and RMIT by tram, to La Trobe University by bus and to Victoria University, Swinburne and Monash University by train. When you're walking around Brunswick, North Fitzroy or North Carlton in my electorate, these suburbs are right at the heart of where the university sector is. There are a lot of young people walking around in Doc Martens—apparently they're still a thing; I remember them from when I was young—”
“Whether it was through his written words or in an animated account at a union meeting, he told our history with a compassion and fervour that few seldom could. You always walked away from time with David feeling enriched and enlightened with a newfound appreciation for our movement and our party. So many people share my memory of a man who shared his humour, his knowledge and his insights. He was generous with his time. David's contributions to the labour movement were immense. The impact of his work is felt by people across Australia. It is a testament to the incredible person he was. He lived his values with a profound and deep commitment. All of us who knew David—his family, his friends, the entire AWU and labour movement—will miss him very deeply. Vale, David.”
“Last Monday, we lost a giant of the union and labour movement with the passing of David Cragg. David's career and achievements spanned decades. Everything he contributed to our movement and through his enduring legacy could not possibly fit into 90 seconds, but I will do my best to capture what a great man he was. He served at the Australian Workers Union in Victoria from 1991 to 2009 and then became, at Victorian Trades Hall Council, its assistant secretary from 2009 to 2018. Importantly, he developed a deep passion for representing people injured at work and the safety of workers. He advocated fiercely for workers' rights to adequate compensation, and this was an issue that he remained passionate about long after his retirement. David was also an avid historian of the Labor Party and labour movement.”
“They want to make the perfect the enemy of the good maybe, or they are interested in political point scoring. They both teamed up together and blocked the environmental protection agency. That is just a reality of the political difference in this place. I have no problem and I don't think any of us have a problem with difference that is really based on very well-considered views and on an understanding of what is going on. But that does not seem to be what is happening here, especially with the attempt to do political point scoring with some on the crossbench. This government remains committed to delivering real environmental protection that balances sustainability with responsible development, and we are making those historic investments to safeguard our national heritage, from the oceans to the outback.”
“It is odd because the coalition began the review around the Environmental Protection Act. They knew it was something that needed to be reformed, looked at, but now they refuse to support the changes needed to strengthen it. And the Greens political party, a minor party in this place, despite claims to champion the environment, have repeatedly shifted their demands, have repeatedly blocked the reforms, have repeatedly obfuscated and blocked progress that would have delivered real protections for nature, so I have to ask the question: are they opposed because they differ in view? The opposition might have a different position. They might not rate or value those protections, or they don't agree with the amount of investment—many reasons. The Greens political party—why are they opposing?”
“We had a $353 million investment for an independent environmental protection agency and it was the opposition—the Liberal and National parties, the coalition—and the Greens political party who worked together and voted together to block it. They clearly have a difference of view about whether we should have an environmental protection agency. That is what this place is for, isn't it—debate? We will not agree on everything. They made a very clear statement that they rejected an environmental protection agency. I know that environmental reform requires cooperation and commitment. We have demonstrated that commitment. We hoped to see bipartisanship and cross partisanship in this place when it came to reform yet we have seen again and again the opposition and the Greens political party obstruct progress at every turn.”
“On balance, I'd be interested to know if there was any government prior to this one that spent as much on or invested more in the environment as this government. The funding of critical programs has been significant: $200 million to restore our city waterways, after the former Liberal government left them to ruin; double the funding for Kakadu and Uluru, after the Liberals let them fall apart; $1.2 billion to protect the Great Barrier Reef, after the Liberals were happy to risk it; and $550 million to protect threatened species, while the Liberals gun for fewer protections. It is interesting that the other element of the member for North Sydney's motion is that we should set aside our political differences in order to make these commitments. I also agree.”
“We know we must act decisively to ensure our environment is protected for future generations. This government has set an ambitious national target to protect and conserve 30 per cent of Australia's land and 30 per cent of our marine areas by 2030, and we're delivering on this commitment with more than 70 million hectares of land and sea added or provided with stronger protections. That's an area bigger than Germany and Italy combined. Australia now leads the world in ocean conservation, with 52 per cent of our oceans protected thanks to our expansion of marine parks. We've established 12 new Indigenous Protected Areas, covering 7.5 million hectares of land and 450,000 hectares of sea—I didn't know sea could be counted in hectares, but there you go; it's a lot.”
“Thank you to the member for North Sydney for putting up this matter of public importance to the House. Protecting Australia's unique environment and biodiversity is certainly a responsibility that should transcend parties, partisanship and party lines; I agree with that a hundred per cent—that element of her motion. It's very important. With respect to the member for North Sydney and other previous speakers, though, there is a reality that has kind of been glossed over a bit. The reality is that this government, in three short years, has been committed to and delivered real, tangible action to safeguard our land, oceans and wildlife. We know Australia is home to some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. We know they are under increasing threat.”
“My question is to the Minister for Housing and Homelessness. How is the Albanese government alleviating housing stress for more Australians, helping first homebuyers by making it easier to save for a deposit, and getting people into their own homes sooner? What are the alternatives?”
“As I said at the start of this speech, Labor is the party for fairness and for equality of opportunity—that means something to us—and for support of working people and working families, and for giving families the best start in life and their kids the best start in life.”
“That's why this government is so committed to it. We care about this. We are doing the work to put in place policies that make a difference for families, for children, for parents, to give them flexibility in their arrangements and in their commitments. We value the work of early educators and we're putting real money on the table, as far as wage increases go, because we care. We care about these things because we know how important the start that our children have is for our society. That's why the Albanese government is working to build this universal early childhood education and care system. It's something that we will always be committed to because it's in our DNA.”
“The transformative policies we have put in place in a very short time under the Albanese Labor government, in early education and child care with respect to families and flexibility and with respect to health as well, are so important in that respect. That is why a re-elected Albanese government post this election—I don't know when it's going to be, but post this election—if we are re-elected, is going to establish the $1 billion Building Early Education Fund, which will build and expand on more centres in areas of need, including outer suburbs and in parts of regional and remote Australia. All of this is important to us. Many of us who are either parents or have nephews and nieces or whatever it might be understand how significant it is to have quality early education and development for children in those early years.”
“I think that's great for dads—and, again, we're removing stereotypes about that because it is important that families have that flexibility to choose their arrangements. We've heard before about needing a village to raise a child and having a community to raise a child. It might be a cliche, but there is great truth to that. It does take a multitude of different members of the community and the environment that our children develop in and learn from in so many ways across the community. It takes good policies as well to give that scaffolding and that framework for the development of children and raising them in the best possible way.”
“Unlike those opposite us, we are working towards a universal early childhood education so that families choose rather than feel compelled to stay home with the kids or send them to child care. It should be up to the families. We all know how vital it is for parents to have time to care for and bond with their child. This is for the wellbeing of children, their parents and the broader community. That's why we expanded the Paid Parental Leave scheme to a full six months by 2025. That's why we added superannuation to that scheme as well. We have made it more flexible to support parents in the transition back to work and made it much easier for parents to share care by creating a single gender-neutral entitlement that both parents can access.”
“We're also committed to giving families the choice to work out childcare arrangements that work for them. Some of us who have smaller children know how difficult it is to juggle their schedules and taxi them around, to be a taxi or Uber driver for your kids; but, more than that, there's the emotional investment we make, the planning and the investment we make in children's education. That is so important. Parents of families need choice to be able to manage this and to have flexible arrangements. We understand more choice and support for families, particularly for women, is so vital, giving them that ability to be flexible and to make their own arrangements.”
“It certainly was the case in the early education sector. I hope no-one here undervalues the work of these early educators. They're not just babysitters, which was a prevalent view or a stereotype. The work they do in the development of a child's learning and education is of critical importance, and so many studies have shown how important that baseline is in those early years. The work they do is professional, it is informed by evidence and it is critical to the development of our children. Our commitment to these workers is also a commitment to women, given the very high percentage of women in that workforce. We are also committed to giving all children equal opportunity. I mentioned the Labor Party being the party of equal opportunity and fairness, and this is about equal opportunity for early childhood education and care.”
“They were seriously underpaid for the work that they do. If you look at the equivalent tertiary diplomas in education, the cert IVs and so on, in other sectors where it isn't as feminised, they were getting paid more. They were really underpaid. This was a real correction—an absolutely necessary correction, given the importance of the work that that sector does. Typically a full-time early educator was paid an award rate. They will receive a pay rise of at least $103 per week, increasing to at least $155 per week from December this year. We know this is a feminised industry. We know there is a serious challenge with the gender pay gap. This was the Albanese government taking real action, $3.6 billion worth of action, to try to address that gender pay gap, which still exists in many sectors.”
“This is thousands of dollars back in the pockets of parents, back in the budget for families, to provide vital cost-of-living relief so that they can invest in their children's future. We know that investing in child care has that ripple effect. It's about early education. It's about the children's development. It's about the ripple that they will cause and their positive impact across community. It's about the economic impact for families and their ability to relieve some of the cost-of-living pressure but also re-invest in their children in many other ways. We invested around $3.6 billion to make the wage increase for early childhood educators happen. That was a serious commitment because we value the work of those educators. It is a largely feminised workforce. I think around 90 to 95 per cent of workers in that workforce are women.”
“These reforms are all part of our expansive commitment to early education across the country. Since we came into government there have been 1,083 new services, including 325 in regional and remote Australia; and more than 90,000 additional places in early education and care. This is part of a package establishing the $1 billion Building Early Education Fund to build and expand childcare centres in areas of need, including the outer suburbs and regions, as I mentioned. Under our government, with Cheaper Child Care, we increased the childcare subsidy, meaning a family earning $120,000 with one child in care three days a week saved around $2,140 last financial year.”
“In government they can do things like that and have a negative impact, but, when we try and do something positive, they still stand in the way of that and they still say no. This bill builds on the Cheaper Child Care reforms, where we cut the cost of early education and care for more than a million families and introduced a 15 per cent pay cut—pay rise, I should say—for early educators. I spoke earlier about the importance of early educators, the work that they do to teach young children. That very formative part of their development in the early years is so critically important. That 15 per cent pay rise—I had a slip of the tongue earlier because I was looking over at the opposition. I think they might have cut if they had the chance. We supported a pay rise for early educators, and that is so important.”
“It replaces the former activity test put forward by the former coalition government, the Liberal government, with a new three-day guarantee in early education. When the former coalition government delivered their 2018 childcare package, they actually halved the number of subsidised hours of care that low-income families could access. That went from 48 to 24 hours. The number of low-income families accessing care went from 32,000 down to 6,500. That wasn't an accidental policy; it was built on the ideological position of those opposite, which led to increasing inequity and excluded communities of people from accessing early education and care. That also has a ripple effect—not a very good one; a negative ripple effect. That is what is most disappointing about their opposition.”
“Think about the ripple effect of that for a moment—the young girl who learned English within six weeks and how that impacts her engagement with her parents, who are also learning English. Think about the ripple effect of over 100,000 children getting access to early education. If one child in my community of Wills has the potential to make a difference to the lives of her family and the community around her, each of those people will do the same and contribute positively to the world around them. Times that by over 100,000. It's such a positive and wonderful thing for the members of the community across the country. This bill is another step in our plan to build a universal early education system and—an economic point here—it saves parents around $1,370 in the first financial year.”
“This three-day guarantee will increase entitlements for over 100,000 families across the country, with more than 66,000 families expected to be better off in the first full financial year of implementation—and, importantly, no family is worse off. That's at least 100,000 children—probably more, because parents sometimes have more than one child; I don't know why because it's a lot of work having two and a lot more work having three! The member for Fremantle is saying how much work it is! But it is a great joy of our lives to be parents, despite how challenging it can be. We are talking now about well over 100,000 children that are going to benefit and access this transformative benefit of early learning.”
“I can't remember the last time those opposite, who are resisting and opposing this bill, advocated for families, for equality of opportunity, for choices for women or for an equitable and open education system to give every single child the same start in life; I don't think they ever have. In contrast, this is a Labor government, the Albanese government, that is building Australia's future, and the Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025 is an important part of this. We want to make sure every child gets the best possible start in life. That's why we've introduced the three-day guarantee for all families. This is to guarantee all families three days of the childcare subsidy each fortnight, with 100 hours guaranteed for families caring for First Nations children and families who work, study or train.”
“She gets a fair bit of fairy bread—hopefully not too much because there's a bit of sugar in that—and the sandpit is her favourite place to play; that's what I was told by her. Within six weeks of her arrival she was speaking fluent English. She was even saying 'mate' and 'g'day', so she had a bit of Australian slang as well. That is the power of early childhood education. It is not just child care. The people that work in this sector are early educators. They are trained and have specific qualifications—tertiary qualifications and diplomas—that go to the very important development of young children and their early education. That's why we respect the work they do and why we supported pay rises for those workers.”
“The Labor Party has been a party of fairness and equality of opportunity, a party that supports working people and their families. In less than three years the Albanese Labor government has put forward what I would consider to be transformative policies to build a universal early childhood and education system accessible to all Australian families. I will tell you about a specific example of these transformative policies and their impact on people. In my electorate of Wills a young family, recently migrated to Australia, have a young daughter who didn't speak a word of English when she came to Australia with her family. She started at a childcare centre in Brunswick, in my electorate of Wills; as soon as she came to Australia, that was the beginning of her education.”
“That means a lot for those early educators who are committed to the kids in their care and their education. It might be a cliche, but it really does take a village to raise a child. It also takes a lot of transformative policies across child care, early education, families and health. It takes a commitment, and a deep respect for equity and fairness, for education is what gives us that start in life, and that's what this Labor government is all about.”
“They might jump up and down in these types of motions and play the opposition card, but when they were in government, they halved it. Under this government, through the cheaper childcare policy, we have increased the subsidy, meaning a family earning $120,000 with one child in care three days a week saved $2,140 last financial year. That is thousands of dollars back in the pockets of families, mums and dads to help provide them cost-of-living relief so they can invest in their children's future. We know that child care means investing in and respecting the crucial work of early childhood educators. That is why the Albanese Labor government announced a 15 per cent wage increase for early childhood education workers, investing $3.6 billion to make that happen.”
“It makes a difference, and it's just another step in Labor's plan to build a universal early education system and save an average family around $1,370 in the first financial year. When the former coalition government delivered their 2018 childcare package, they halved the number of subsidised hours of care that low-income families could access. They halved it, from 48 hours to 24. I don't think you can change those facts. They know they did that. The number of low-income families accessing care went from 32,000 to 6½ thousand. This was no accidental policy; it was built on the ideology of those opposite to increase inequity and exclude communities of people from accessing education and care. They don't rate it; they don't believe in it; therefore, they didn't do anything about it.”