WEBVTT - Labor’s big plan for little kids

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<v Speaker 1>From The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Christinamiot.

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<v Speaker 1>It's Thursday, December twelfth. Prime Minister Anthony Albanesi pledged eight

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<v Speaker 1>point five million dollars to find the redevelopment of Sydney's

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<v Speaker 1>Jewish Museum after a second anti semitic attack was carried

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<v Speaker 1>out in the city's east on Tuesday night. New South

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<v Speaker 1>Wales Premier Chris Min's blasted suggestions the Wallara incident didn't

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<v Speaker 1>amount to antisemitism.

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<v Speaker 2>This is not simply just an act of vandalism on

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<v Speaker 2>the streets of Sydney. We need to call it out

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<v Speaker 2>for what it is. It is anti Semitic and it

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<v Speaker 2>needs to be met with a full response from New

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<v Speaker 2>South Wales Police in the New South Wales government.

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<v Speaker 1>Meanwhile, leaders of Melbourne's Jewish community have called on governments

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<v Speaker 1>at all levels to address the surge in anti Semitic

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<v Speaker 1>incidents after a synagogue was firebombed and a local member's

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<v Speaker 1>electorate office was vandalized. All our reporting and analysis of

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<v Speaker 1>this ongoing issue is live right now at the Australian

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<v Speaker 1>dot Com dot AU. It's been days of chaos for

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<v Speaker 1>the government, but that didn't stop the PM from spooking

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<v Speaker 1>Labour's big childcare plans on Wednesday. So is it a

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<v Speaker 1>sweet enough deal to get voters back on board before

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<v Speaker 1>the next election. That's today's episode. It was an announcement

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<v Speaker 1>befitting an election campaign.

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<v Speaker 3>There are more than one million reasons to invest in

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<v Speaker 3>early education, some of whom are here with us here today,

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<v Speaker 3>one of them riding a dinosaur down there.

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<v Speaker 1>Prime Minister Anthony Albanesi, surrounded by a crowd of early

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<v Speaker 1>childhood educators, parents and cute toddlers and babies, unveiled the

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<v Speaker 1>Labor Party's plan to overhaul the childcare sector.

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<v Speaker 3>Today I announced our government is establishing a one billion

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<v Speaker 3>dollar building early Education fund. This is the single biggest

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<v Speaker 3>investment by an Australian government ever in new child care services.

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<v Speaker 1>It came at a crucial moment for the government. The

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<v Speaker 1>PM has been under pressure for days to take more

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<v Speaker 1>decisive action on rising anti semitism.

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<v Speaker 4>The fact is there's never going to be the perfect day.

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<v Speaker 4>This is how I think Albanezi looked at this.

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<v Speaker 1>Sarah Eisen is a political reporter with The Australian.

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<v Speaker 4>So I think he was very clear that this was

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<v Speaker 4>the week he was going to do it. I also

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<v Speaker 4>think he wanted to do it because they're also cognizant

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<v Speaker 4>of the coalition's nuclear energy costings, because they want that

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<v Speaker 4>day where the Coalition release their nuclear energy costing, which

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<v Speaker 4>is any day now free for the Labor to attack

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<v Speaker 4>and criticize that. It feels very much like an election,

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<v Speaker 4>and we're very close to one, could be within a

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<v Speaker 4>couple months of the earliest, could be by May.

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<v Speaker 1>The PM pledged on Wednesday to scrap an activity test

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<v Speaker 1>that requires parents and careers to work or study if

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<v Speaker 1>they want to access childcare benefits. Labour will also give

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<v Speaker 1>families earning a combined annual income of less than five

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and thirty thousand dollars access to three days per

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<v Speaker 1>week of government subsidized childcare if it wins the next election,

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<v Speaker 1>and the government says it'll build more than one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and fifty childcare centers in cities and regions where they're

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<v Speaker 1>needed most, as well as drawing thousands of new workers

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<v Speaker 1>into the sector, with taxpayers footing the bill.

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<v Speaker 3>Now, the coming budget update will show common more funding

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<v Speaker 3>for childcare subsidies is increasing by three point one billion

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<v Speaker 3>dollars over the next four years to support an extra

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<v Speaker 3>two hundred thousand children to receive earlier educash. Alongside this,

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<v Speaker 3>thirty four thousand and more early educators have joined the

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<v Speaker 3>workforce thirty four thousand. There are another one hundred and

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<v Speaker 3>twenty five thousand in training, including in Free Day right

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<v Speaker 3>across the nation.

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<v Speaker 1>Now bear with me here while we do a bit

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<v Speaker 1>of maths. Modeling released by the Productivity Commission in September,

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<v Speaker 1>that's the government's independent research and advisory body suggested the

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<v Speaker 1>cost of ditching the current activity test for five days

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<v Speaker 1>a week would cost about two billion dollars a year.

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<v Speaker 1>On top of that, removal of the activity test could

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<v Speaker 1>threaten productivity if parents and carers are no longer paying

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<v Speaker 1>income tax. So how is labor getting away with it

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<v Speaker 1>so cheaply?

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<v Speaker 4>The governments saying that the Productivity Commission's costings and their

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<v Speaker 4>costings are very different. They're saying the Productivity Commission's using

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<v Speaker 4>data from twenty nineteen twenty twenty.

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<v Speaker 5>And they are using much more up to day start off.

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<v Speaker 4>They're not saying it's a huge difference in policy or

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<v Speaker 4>that we've managed to do it cheaply. For this reason,

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<v Speaker 4>they're looking at it as a calculation difference rather than

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<v Speaker 4>a substantive policy difference.

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<v Speaker 2>Is there a.

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<v Speaker 1>World in which this isn't about money or politics at all? Like,

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<v Speaker 1>is this just the right thing to do for Australian

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<v Speaker 1>families and for Australian kids from an.

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<v Speaker 4>Education perspective, If we zoom out back past the Middle

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<v Speaker 4>East conflict, back before we were around the corner from

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<v Speaker 4>an election. The call for particularly the activity test to

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<v Speaker 4>be scrapped has been going on literally for years, for

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<v Speaker 4>so many years, and the government's owned Women Economic Equality

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<v Speaker 4>Task Force, not the last budget, but the budget before

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<v Speaker 4>that recommended the activity test to be scrapped. So outside

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<v Speaker 4>of the money, outside of the election and psycho outside

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<v Speaker 4>of everything political, this is a long time coming for Labor,

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<v Speaker 4>particularly for a government that sees universal childcare as the

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<v Speaker 4>end game. For that to be achieved, you need to

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<v Speaker 4>be taking these incremental steps regarding the activity test as

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<v Speaker 4>a starting point, addressing the childcare desert, looking at boosting

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<v Speaker 4>wages for workforce and so on. So this is a

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<v Speaker 4>critical piece of the puzzle that is regarding Labour's.

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<v Speaker 5>Long term vision beyond the typical.

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<v Speaker 4>Day to day politics and the desire to get some

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<v Speaker 4>really good stuff out before an election.

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<v Speaker 1>Labor made moves in the childcare space.

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<v Speaker 6>Back in August, Australia's two hundred thousand childcare workers will

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<v Speaker 6>receive a fifteen percent pay rise funded by federal taxpayers.

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<v Speaker 6>A mid concerns it risks further fueling inflation. The Prime

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<v Speaker 6>Minister says the wage increase is conditional on childcare fees

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<v Speaker 6>being capped.

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<v Speaker 1>At the time, Opposition leader Peter Dutton criticized the move

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<v Speaker 1>as a one off sugar hit.

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<v Speaker 4>The government has to explain whether or not these workers

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<v Speaker 4>are going to get this pay ongoing, or whether they

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<v Speaker 4>will get a paid cut after the election. The sector

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<v Speaker 4>a lot of people, the parenthood, nonproprofit sector, a lot

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<v Speaker 4>of those sorts of bodies have called for the Opposition

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<v Speaker 4>to match what Labour's announced. The Opposition isn't going to

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<v Speaker 4>do that. The Opposition is saying that the activity test

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<v Speaker 4>already has exemptions you can apply for if you're from

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<v Speaker 4>a disadvantaged background. It's also saying that it's going to

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<v Speaker 4>unnecessarily and unsustainably fuel demand, which is not at all

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<v Speaker 4>okay in a cost of living crisis. So they're talking

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<v Speaker 4>about a smoke and mirror's moment. A moment that isn't

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<v Speaker 4>actually going to help Australian families.

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<v Speaker 1>Coming up. What Labour can learn about childcare from our

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<v Speaker 1>friends across the Pacific. When Anthony Albanesi unveiled the government's

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<v Speaker 1>multi billion dollar childcare scheme on Wednesday, he likened it

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<v Speaker 1>to another Labor Party invention friends.

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<v Speaker 3>A Labor government created universal Mediccare because we believe that

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<v Speaker 3>every Australian has the right to quality, affordable healthcare.

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<v Speaker 1>That was in nineteen eighty four and former Prime Minister

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<v Speaker 1>Bob Hawke played a starring role in the marketing material

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<v Speaker 1>for the scheme.

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<v Speaker 3>Then every Australian from Newborn Bay the Prime Minister can

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<v Speaker 3>share in the cheapest, simplest and fairest health insurance scheme

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<v Speaker 3>Australia's ever had.

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<v Speaker 1>Now Elbow's gunning for the same success with early childhood education.

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<v Speaker 3>And that's why we want to build a universal childcare system, simple,

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<v Speaker 3>affordable and accessible for every family.

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<v Speaker 1>There are lessons to be learned not from Medicare, but

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<v Speaker 1>from Canada, where a nationwide early Learning and childcare plan

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<v Speaker 1>was introduced in twenty twenty one. That scheme pumped more

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<v Speaker 1>than thirty billion dollars of federal funds into the system

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<v Speaker 1>in a bid to make childcare available to all families

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<v Speaker 1>for an average of ten dollars per day.

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<v Speaker 7>If you're a parent, you deserve affordable childcare. You need

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<v Speaker 7>affordable early learning and childcare. That's why a re elected

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<v Speaker 7>Liberal government will continue to support Canadian families by fighting

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<v Speaker 7>for ten dollars a day childcare right across the country.

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<v Speaker 1>The thinking was from an economic perspective that the Canadian

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<v Speaker 1>government would break even. Childcare that's flexible, affordable and accessible

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<v Speaker 1>enables parents to rejoin or contribute more to the workforce

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<v Speaker 1>and boost productivity. But three years on, the scheme is

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<v Speaker 1>on shaky ground, with most provinces struggling to meet their

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<v Speaker 1>targets for new daycare spaces by the twenty twenty six deadline.

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<v Speaker 1>Financial pressures have caused some centers to close or pull

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<v Speaker 1>out of the scheme, sending fees in the opposite direction.

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<v Speaker 1>Childcare workers and early childhood educators are leaving the sector

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<v Speaker 1>in droves, with many saying they're underpaid and underappreciated, and

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<v Speaker 1>waiting lists have blown out all over the country, meaning

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<v Speaker 1>kids from low income and poor families could miss out altogether.

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<v Speaker 1>So could the same thing happen in Australia. Here's Sarah Eisen.

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<v Speaker 4>Labour's feeling confident, particularly because they have a plan in

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<v Speaker 4>place regarding workforce that rests quite heavily on two things,

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<v Speaker 4>which is WAYGE rises that have been pumping through for

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<v Speaker 4>some time now, the Good Start Early Learning WAYGE rise

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<v Speaker 4>of ten percent just this month. And also migration settings.

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<v Speaker 4>Plenty of really clear migration pathways for people to work

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<v Speaker 4>in the sector. So while demand might be really high,

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<v Speaker 4>they're hopeful that by investing directly and even owning centers,

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<v Speaker 4>coupled with getting people to actually work in the industry

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<v Speaker 4>will mean that they can meet this demand.

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<v Speaker 5>It's ambitious, it's a gamble.

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<v Speaker 4>Is it a risk, Absolutely, but it's one that Labor

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<v Speaker 4>reckons it can figure out.

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<v Speaker 1>Albanize said on Wednesday that Labour's pledged to make childcare

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<v Speaker 1>cheaper was the single biggest policy commitment the party made

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<v Speaker 1>in the run up to the last election.

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<v Speaker 3>In our first term, we're brought down the cost of

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<v Speaker 3>childcare for over one million families and we're boosting the

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<v Speaker 3>wages of up to two hundred thousand early educators by

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<v Speaker 3>that fifteen percent.

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<v Speaker 1>Labour's popularity has plummeted in recent months as voters struggle

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<v Speaker 1>under a cost of living crisis. So the question now

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<v Speaker 1>becomes will it win votes when Australians go to the

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<v Speaker 1>polls in twenty twenty five.

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<v Speaker 4>Look, I think it might be a big part of

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<v Speaker 4>where some young families put their vote, only because the

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<v Speaker 4>Coalition doesn't currently have an alternative vision in that particular space.

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<v Speaker 4>And now this isn't just about the latest announcement we've

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<v Speaker 4>got this week. This is also about the nearly five

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<v Speaker 4>billion pumped in the first budget that gave families up

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<v Speaker 4>to ninety percent of a subsidy for those on the

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<v Speaker 4>really low income spectrum eight thousand or less, and it

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<v Speaker 4>covered families up to five hundred and thirty thousand dollars

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<v Speaker 4>for a household income. So Labour's saying, this is everything

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<v Speaker 4>we're doing for mums and dads and we are the

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<v Speaker 4>ones who've got a vision for you.

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<v Speaker 5>I think that's compelling. However, at the same time.

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<v Speaker 4>Even though Labor's put in all of these different things,

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<v Speaker 4>the costs of childcare has been going up.

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<v Speaker 5>It's been eating away.

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<v Speaker 4>At all the benefits Labors delivered, so people aren't really

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<v Speaker 4>feeling this in their back pocket, so it might not

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<v Speaker 4>be that committing an argument either. It's really up to

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<v Speaker 4>what is going on family to family, but I don't

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<v Speaker 4>think it won't sway anyone. I think there's a chance

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<v Speaker 4>of getting a few votes, the question is how many.

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<v Speaker 1>Sarah Eison is a political reporter with The Australian. You

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<v Speaker 1>can read that story, as well as all the nation's

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<v Speaker 1>best news, sport and politics, right now at the Australian

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<v Speaker 1>dot com dot au