This Saturday people in New South Wales will vote for a new state government and we are thrilled that early childhood education is firmly on the map as a priority issue of the major parties in NSW.
- The NSW Coalition under Premier Dominic Perrottet will bring forward $1 billion in early childhood education spending. They want to kick-start construction on 500 new preschools, in an election pledge that will accelerate a plan to give every young child in the state a full additional year of free play-based education before Kindergarten.
Find out more here: https://nswliberal.org.au/ourplanfornsw/7-education
- NSW Labor has put forward a rival plan, matching the Coalition and proposing to build 100 new early childhood education centres next to primary schools in NSW to “create an oasis of learning where there’s early learning deserts”. Labor leader Chris Minns has also said they will accelerate universal pre-kindergarten to four-year-olds, promising to bring forward the commitment from 2030 to 2026.
Find out more here: https://www.freshstartplan.com.au/education-for-life/
- The Greens NSW has promised to work towards free and universal access to public early childhood education from birth for all children in NSW. All parents and children should have “access to high quality early learning and care services appropriate to their circumstances”.
Find out more here: https://greens.org.au/nsw/policies/early-childhood-education
- In many seats around the state Independent candidates are also standing for election. Like their Federal-counterparts many of these candidates are campaigning around action on climate, integrity and equity.
It’s also good to see some policy attention to the current workforce crisis in the early childhood education sector in NSW. NSW Labor unveiled a $22 million plan to improve the working conditions of early childhood educators including more paid leave and scholarships, and the NSW Coalition has proposed investments to attract and retain early childhood teachers and educators.
Whatever the result on Saturday - we will continue to amplify the voices of parents and carers. We will make sure that the needs of families are represented in NSW and federal politics.
Together, we will continue to campaign to make Australia the best place in the world for families.
