THRIVE BY FIVE WELCOMES THE PRIORITISATION OF EARLY LEARNING REFORMS BY THE TASMANIAN GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION
13 March 2024 – Minderoo Foundation’s Thrive by Five campaign has welcomed the prioritisation of early childhood education and care reforms as a key issue in the upcoming Tasmanian state election with commitments by both the Tasmanian Government and Opposition.
Minderoo’s Jay Weatherill said that Thrive by Five welcomed commitments from both major parties and looked forward to working with all parties and candidates to make early learning more accessible and affordable for all Tasmanian families.
“It is great to see that expanding access to early learning is a matter of priority for both the government and the opposition,” Mr Weatherill said.
The Tasmanian Government announced today that a re-elected it will invest $48 million dollars in the state’s early childhood education and care system, $5 million of which will be dedicated to setting up an Early Years Workforce Development Fund aimed at educator retention and attraction.
The commitment will allocate $32 million to build four new early learning centres in high-growth regions and $10 million to expand onsite Out of School Hours Care services.
Tasmanian Opposition has announced that if elected it would invest $75 million in the state’s early learning system to create an additional 4,500 early learning spaces by building 30 new early learning centres.
The Opposition’s commitments also include $3 million in professional development funding to cover early childhood diplomas and 20 grants of up to $90,000 for the expansion of Out of School Hours Care services.
“If implemented these policies will help enable many more Tasmanian children to access the benefits of high-quality early learning and care,” Mr Weatherill said.
“They will also help support the state’s educator workforce, who are the backbone of the early childhood education and care system.
“Making access to care more accessible will also allow primary carers, who are predominantly women, to re-enter the workforce should they choose to do so and help them in their career journeys.
“We welcome these measures and also encourage all parties and candidates to take more concrete measures to address challenges with affordability and commit to using the National Cabinet to advocate for an immediate wage increase for all educators and the abolition of the Activity Test.”
