Senator Steph Hodgins-May
Australian Greens Spokesperson for Early Childhood Education
Senator for Victoria
Early Childhood Australia is grateful to Senator Steph Hodgins-May, Australian Greens Spokesperson for Early Childhood Education for her support of Early Learning Matters Week 2025, and for sharing with The Spoke readership prepared comments for the Early Learning Matters Week Wrap Up Event held at Australian Parliament House on August 27. Attending the event were fellow parliamentarians, early childhood professionals, advocates, supporters, and sector leaders. The prepared address by Senator Hodgins-May is published here with permission and in its entirety.
Thank you for inviting me to speak at this year’s Early Learning Matters event in Parliament. I also want to thank Early Childhood Australia for hosting, and everyone who joined from across the sector.
It was wonderful to see educators and sector leaders in Parliament, advocating so passionately for early childhood education.
As a mum of two young kids, I know firsthand how important early childhood education is. It not only allows my partner and I to work in our chosen careers, but it also gives my daughter a safe, fun and supportive environment to learn and build skills for life. Without access to our local council-run centre and without the support of its brilliant educators, our lives would look very different and be far more difficult.
But I also know that many families don’t share that same access to affordable, high-quality early education. That’s why Early Learning Matters Week feels more important than ever.
Despite the dedication of so many in this sector, recent reports show that our early learning system still faces challenges in consistently delivering high-quality care and ensuring safe, supportive environments for every child. The Greens welcomed recent steps to improve safety, but we know there is still much more to do to make sure every child gets the education they deserve.
To help drive this change, the Greens initiated a Senate Inquiry into the quality and safety of Australia’s childcare system. This inquiry is a chance to take a closer look at the big issues facing early learning and, crucially, to ensure educators, families and the sector can bring their voices straight into Parliament.
Your experiences and insights are vital to shaping a stronger, safer, more effective system. I encourage you to contribute to the inquiry, your voices will guide reforms and help build stronger national oversight that benefits every child. You can find more details, including how to make a submission, here.
In addition, the Greens have consistently called for an independent national Early Childhood Education and Care Commission, a body that would oversee the transition to a universal, high-quality early learning system, and work with states and territories to enforce consistent quality standards.
We now have a real opportunity to move towards a system that is genuinely universal and high-quality. The Greens are ready to work with the government and with you, the sector, to deliver the reforms needed to give every child the best start in life.
Thank you to everyone across the sector for your tireless work, advocacy, and dedication. I look forward to continuing to work with you to build a future where every child can thrive, every educator is supported, and high-quality early childhood education is a reality for all.
Organised by Early Childhood Australia (ECA), Early Learning Matters Week aims to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of early learning in shaping the development and wellbeing of children. We seek to highlight the significant role that early learning plays in laying the foundation for future success and to emphasise the value of quality early childhood education and care.
