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Broadside
COMMUNITY EARLY LEARNING AUSTRALIA NEWSLETTER MAY 2019
Federal election 2019
Pre-election week
In an election where early childhood education is being treated seriously, it's even more vital to be
informed and make sure your vote counts for the issues that matter to you. We have put together a
triple header edition for the final pre-election week:
CELA CEO Michele Carnegie and CELA Policy & Research
CELA SIMPLE GUIDE Consultant Megan O'Connell teamed up to write this article
TO ELECTION 2019......................................... 2 that sets the scene for how your big issues are being
integrated into some policy platforms, and what this new
We begin this edition's final pre-election stories with
attention might mean for ECE.
something we know you'll love: a CELA Simple Guide that
connects each party's position with the four big advocacy
issues facing the sector. It's shareable, downloadable, BE INFORMED.................................................. 5
printable and very readable.
And finally, we've selected some absolute highlights from
the sector's election resources and articles to bring you a
WHY THIS ELECTION MATTERS fast-read with plenty of good graphics to ensure you not only
understand what your vote for a party might mean for ECE,
FOR EARLY LEARNING.................................... 3 but also to help you explain sector issues to others.
The new levels of political and media interest in ECE this
The Australian Electoral Commission has announced a record
election - at least by some parties - haven't come about by
level of 96.8% of Australians enrolled to vote in this ballot.
accident. Peak bodies have been working together more
People are motivated. Don't miss a chance to tell them what
cohesively than ever before, seeking out their members'
their decision could mean for every child in this country.
views and finding common ground to add strength to the
whole sector's voice.
CELA's Simple Guide to Election 2019
ADVOCACY AREA AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY LIBERAL/NATIONAL PARTY COALITION
1 Children who
start behind, stay
behind.
⊲⊲ Supports two years of universal access to
preschool at 15 hours per week, with the
second year (for three year olds) commencing
⊲⊲ Supports one year of universal access to
preschool in 2020. Prepared to 'work with
the states and territories to support a
in 2021. longer-term plan.'
Two years of quality, ⊲⊲ Promises to 'lock in permanent funding to the ⊲⊲ $4.9m to improve preschool data and to fund
affordable, preschool existing universal access program for four The Smith Family to work with the states and
education for every child year olds'. territories and disadvantaged communities
Quote source: Early Learning: Everyone Benefits to improve participation.
Quote source: Early Learning: Everyone Benefits
2 To the greatest
need, for the
greatest return.
⊲⊲ Promise to urgently review current CCS
Activity Test and subsidy access for
vulnerable children and BBFs.
⊲⊲ Stands by current Activity Test for CCS,
offering maximum 12 hours subsidy per
Activity Test for study, work or volunteering.
⊲⊲ Will abolish CCS Activity Test for three year ⊲⊲ Points to the Safety Net provisions which
Scrap or reform the unfair old preschool programs. waive the Activity Test for vulnerable families.
Activity Test for CCS ⊲⊲ Will increase subsidies to 100% for families ⊲⊲ $4m to enhance child care subsidy.
earning up to $69K, and higher subsidies
savings for most other families - on average
$1400 per year better off.
3 Attract, train
& retain great
educators
⊲⊲ Will implement eight year plan to increase
early childhood educator wages by 20%
including superannuation.
⊲⊲ No workforce strategy.
⊲⊲ Strongly opposed to any government
intervention in ECE pay or conditions
⊲⊲ Commitment to consult sector about funded
We need a national workforce development.
Workforce Strategy and fair ⊲⊲ Will create 10,000 fee-free places in ECE
pay for quality educators courses at TAFE institutes.
4 Support
our NQF
⊲⊲ Committed to restoring the $20 million
cut from NQF in the last budget and to an
ongoing collaborative approach by extending
⊲⊲ Removed $20m National Quality Framework
funding in 2018.
⊲⊲ No commitment to the NQF or national
We've worked too hard the current National Partnership Agreement collaboration for the future.
to lose the NQF or see its or creating a new NPA to carry beyond 2020. ⊲⊲ Forecast 'ongoing Commonwealth leadership
independence become ⊲⊲ Supports states and territory consistency following the completion of the partnership
just another Federal for matters like quality assessment and agreement with states and territories [in
government scheme. workforce support. 2020]'.
Quote source: Simon Birmingham media release 8 May 18
HOW ABOUT THE GREENS? MORE INFORMATION
The Greens is the only minor party with a comprehensive ECE platform. As they are ⊲⊲ CELA Federal Election 2019 look for
unlikely to form a government, their greatest influence will be to strongly apply their 'Federal Election 2019'
policy position to legislation and committees in the Senate. ⊲⊲ Early Learning: Everyone Benefits look for
'#Election2019 Policy Guide
1. Fee-free access to all ECE for family incomes up to $170K. The only party to
⊲⊲ Australian Electoral Commission look for
commit to 24 hours per week universal preschool access.
'How to vote'
2. Abolish Activity Test for CCS. Reallocate part of Community Child Care Fund to
⊲⊲ www.alp.org.au for ALP policy
services focused on ECE for vulnerable children.
www.liberal.org.au for LNP policy
3. Create a workforce strategy for fairer pay and conditions. Fee-free TAFE and
www.greens.org.au for Greens policy
undergraduate study for all.
4. Full support for the NQF in a national partnership, and to restoring the funding
cut by the Coalition in 2018
Broadside MAY 2019 | 2
Why this election matters
for early learning
BY MICHELE CARNEGIE AND MEGAN O’CONNELL
CELA presents a final summary of the major party ECE policy platforms ahead of the Federal election on
Saturday May 18. The commentary in this article was prepared by CELA CEO Michele Carnegie and CELA
Policy and Research Consultant, Megan O’Connell.
We’ve also drawn from our recent coverage as well as the campaign at Early Learning: Everyone Benefits,
to create a CELA Simple Guide to help you navigate the big policy comparisons in this very important poll.
I think it’s fair to say that all children [in childcare places]
This election matters to ECE should come from families who are either working or making
Access to early learning has become a key election issue. some other contribution to the community.
Mounting evidence shows that all children benefit from early
The Coalition’s election promises provided little new for
learning, although the largest benefits accrue to the most
early learning, perhaps because the government has only
disadvantaged children.
recently delivered its new Child Care subsidy in the Jobs
The latest AEDC data shows we still have a long way to go for Families Package.
in helping disadvantaged children to start school alongside
Additional funding has been provided to enhance the subsidy,
their peers.
and to improve access to preschool. One more year of non-
Evidence of the need to start early is gaining broad traction recurrent funding for 4-year-old preschool has also been
in Australia, and politicians may be seeing it as a vote winner. offered, with a promise to ‘work with the states and territories
Its inclusion as a topic in the ABC’s Vote Compass reveals to support a longer-term plan’.
early learning is a mainstream issue. Just this week, the 7.30
Report focused precious airtime on the rise of early childhood
education and care as a vote winner (or loser) in a story titled
ALP Platform
Why childcare is an election battleground. The ALP has embarked on an ambitious agenda with
a three-part focus:
This election campaign has been interesting as policy
attention has taken on a more comprehensive attitude to ⊲⊲ universal access to two years of preschool, with 3-year-
the benefits for children, parents and educators, rather than olds added from 2021
the traditional approach to ECE as a mechanism for parental ⊲⊲ 100% fee subsidies for families earning less than $69,527
workforce participation. and increased subsidies for middle income families
⊲⊲ a controversial commitment to increase early childhood
educator wages by 20% over eight years, including those
Coalition platform already being paid above award.
An exception to this broader approach, the current government
Labor has announced many other initiatives, including a
acknowledges there are benefits for children to engage in
commitment to the national quality framework, an early
high quality ECE but maintains the priority for funding must be
years strategy, and an ‘urgent’ review of budget based
productivity. At a recent forum, spokesperson Senator James
funding and the CCS activity test.
Paterson, summed this view up as:
Broadside MAY 2019 | 3
Higher subsidies, though welcome, must not open the Risks and benefits
door for higher fees. Labor plans to engage the ACCC to
It is fantastic that early learning is looming so large in the
police ECE fee increases and to find ways to control child
election and getting the attention it deserves.
care fee increases in the future. The party is adamant
that the fee hikes seen in the past, particularly from large However, the new attention presents a new risk: if early
private providers, will not be tolerated. The ACCC has had learning does not ultimately sway voters it could again be
relegated to a ‘B grade’ issue and taken off the political
mixed success in similar tasks, such as the introduction
agenda. If, for example, Labor doesn’t see an increase in
of Australia’s goods and services tax, and monitoring the
votes for its substantial extra subsidy for CCS, it’s hard to
impact of the Carbon Tax. picture it giving such attention to ECE in the next election.
With universal access preschool funding currently not
The Greens platform guaranteed beyond 2020, and an impending workforce
The Greens party has also released an ambitious agenda shortage, it would be bad news for children, parents and
educators if politicians don’t see a payback for their new
including ‘fee-free childcare’ for most families, abolishing the
attention to the sector.
activity test, and paying educators fair wages.
This election is crucially important – but the work doesn’t
They would reallocate some of the Community Child stop here.
Care funds to provide permanent funding to ‘community
controlled, culturally safe integrated early years services, The early learning sector has done a great job so far in
unifying to support access to early learning for more children,
to ensure access in areas of high First Nations populations
especially in the two years before school.
and high levels of disadvantage’ (source: Greens response to
ELEB #election2019). We need to stay loud and active, regardless of the election
result, to ensure the needs of children continue to be heard,
The Greens point to wider policies with implications for early that important research is understood by non-experts, and
childhood educators too, such as their position on free tertiary that the value provided by early childhood educators is
education for all TAFE and undergraduate university students. appropriately rewarded.
We need to
stay loud and
active, regardless of the
election result, to ensure
the needs of children
continue to be heard.
Michele Carnegie, CELA CEO
Broadside MAY 2019 | 4Be
Informed
Is voting enjoying a zeitgeist moment in Australia this year? And what might that mean for you?
We’re here to help you be informed about Federal election 2019 in the easiest possible way,
including an all new Simple Guide to the ECE policies.
chart for the three largest political parties and a fact sheet
Join in explaining the party responses to the ELEB candidate survey.
In an election where early childhood education is being
⊲⊲ ELEB Policy Guide #election2019, to download visit:
treated seriously, the Australian Electoral Commission is also www.cela.org.au/2019/05/15/be-informed/
reporting the highest enrolment rate in our history at 96.8%. ⊲⊲ To download the ELEB resource visit: www.
That’s 16.4 million people ready to have their say in the future everyonebenefits.org.au/_election2019_policy_guide
government of this wide brown land. People are motivated,
and even if they’re motivated by other issues, it’s a good time Launch into Learning Impact Estimator
to be a little bit of an expert on yours. This is especially true One thing that’s clear this election, there are plenty of
if you are voting for the first time, or if you work or live with families looking for a reduction in their childcare costs as a
young people who are voting for the first time. deciding factor for their vote.
With only a few days to go, and all the major campaigns Launch into Learning has prepared this succinct score card
now officially launched, you might be feeling a touch of (https://launchintolearning.com.au/federal-election-score-
overwhelm on the path to ECE Election Expert status. card/) for the parties, based on their responses to an earlier
Never fear! We are here! questionnaire. The team has also developed a nifty online
‘Impact Estimator’ you may wish to share with families to
New Simple Guide help them assess which set of policies would most benefit
their situation.
Broadside includes the release of our all new, printable CELA
Simple Guide to #election2019 – the perfect one-pager for To try the Estimator, and share it with your families visit:
anyone interested in the four big advocacy questions facing https://launchintolearning.com.au/party-estimator/
the sector.
Please see page 3 or to download, print or share this guide
CELA Broadside May 2019
visit: www.cela.org.au/2019/05/15/cela-simple-guide-to- Regardless of who wins the Federal election, a key challenge
election-2019-printable/ for the next government will be to address workforce issues
in early childhood education and care. Workforce demand
But wait, there’s more! is about to hit a new high, with insufficient pipeline coming
We’re bringing you three additional amazing resources in this through to fill this demand. We are not training enough
post, all designed to help you feel prepared to make good teachers to replace those leaving the workforce currently, let
choices and enjoy your democracy sausage this Saturday. alone for an additional year of preschool. Within five years
Or you can vote – without the snags – any time ahead of one in three teacher vacancies will remain unfilled unless
Saturday with a pre-poll ballot, just head to www.aec.gov.au/ urgent action is taken now.
election/voting.htm#voting for early voting centre info and This is an issue which has finally found a place in some
keep your weekend free! major party’s policy platforms. It relates to pay, conditions,
professional development, qualifications and educator
Early Learning: Everyone Benefits Policy recruitment and retention. Read this article by CELA Policy
Guide and Infographic and Research Consultant Megan O’Connell in the May issue of
The main sector campaign for greater investment in and Broadside, and be fully informed, and able to inform others,
recognition of ECE, Early Learning: Everyone Benefits (ELEB) when it’s time to cast your vote.
has been understandably busy on many activities leading up To Download visit: www.cela.org.au/wp-content/
to the #election 2019, including the creation of a star uploads/2019/05/Broadside-May-2019.pdf
Broadside MAY 2019 | 5Office and Postal Address
Addison Road Community Centre, Building 21,
142 Addison Road, Marrickville NSW 2204
Phone (02) 8922 6444
Fax (02) 8922 6445
Email info@cela.org.au
Web www.cela.org.au
Facebook www.facebook.com/communityearlylearningaustralia
Twitter @celaust
ABN 81 174 903 921
Broadside MAY 2019 | 6You can also read
