Tuesday, 26 August 2025

Ministers statements: early childhood education and care

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:14): Last week I met Dia, a childcare worker in Fitzroy, and she told me a story that has stayed with me ever since. It was about a little boy from a vulnerable background who could not speak and his mum, who had never engaged with child care and who was not sure if she was doing the right thing – who did not know if this was a place that she could trust. Over a number of weeks and months this little boy would go to child care, and he would sit by the door waiting for Mum to come back. Dia spoke about how heartbreaking that was and the gentle way she built trust – how bit by bit this little boy came out of his shell, and he began to join in, make friends and look forward to coming to care every morning. Eventually he spoke, and along the way his mum grew in confidence too.

This is a story that moved me, and it reminded me of the extraordinary work our childcare educators do every single day – work that is powerful, precious and life-changing and work that we are here to protect, because families put their trust in this system, and I acknowledge that that trust has been shattered. It has shaken families, and it has shaken childcare workers like Dia. As a Premier and as a mum, I am determined to act, working to keep children safe and to overhaul the child safety system, which is why we have acted urgently, commissioning a rapid child safety review, and now we are implementing every one of those 22 recommendations.

This is urgent work – the work of this Parliament this week and further work that will come before the Parliament – because nothing that we do in this place is more important than protecting children. But also in acknowledging that this is a national system for workers like Dia, it needs a national response, which is why, as a result of Victoria’s leadership, the nation’s laws are going to be strengthened to put the safety and best interests of the child at the centre of every decision, from the boardroom to the playroom.