Early Childhood Roundtable on Tasmania’s Cradle Coast

We know that regional communities, like those on Tasmania’s Cradle Coast, face some unique challenges when it comes to accessing high quality early childhood education and care.

That’s why last week, I joined an early childhood roundtable convened by MP for Braddon Anne Urquhart and Senator Josh Dolega to hear directly from early childhood educators and providers in north-west Tasmania.

They told me that:
✔️ They know just how important high quality early years education is for children in their communities, and they don’t want anyone to miss out because of where they live
✔️ They’re keen to help educators stay in regional communities, and build the kind of long-term ties that create better outcomes for everyone
✔️ And they want more early learning to be available in their communities.

These issues are top of mind for the Albanese Government. That’s why we’ve funded a 15% pay rise for early childhood educators, and why we’re investing $1 billion in our Building Early Education Fund to deliver more not-for-profit and community-run services in the places where families need them most.

But we know there’s more to do – and I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who attended our roundtable for sharing their thoughts, experiences and ideas with me, including the mayors of nine towns on the Cradle Coast.

I also want to shout out to Director Heather and the team at Discovery Early Learning Centre, who hosted Anne and me for a visit in the morning.

Your dedication to your work and to the wider Burnie community is fantastic to see.