This week we started an important conversation Australia needs to have.
Childcare is not working for many parents. Research also shows it is far from ideal for infants, who benefit developmentally from close parental attachment (usually but not always with mum) in the first 1000 days. Too often, the current system makes life harder, not easier, for young families.
The Albanese Labor Government is moving toward institutional, effectively shifting more care to the state so mothers experience minimal interruption to their careers and tax revenue keeps flowing. But many young women want more genuine choice and to stay home longer or rely on family support, especially in the early years.
But choice isn't easy with cost of living pressures.
The Page Research Centre, a think tank supporting the Nationals, released a major policy paper this week arguing for a rebalance: stronger support for families, the best start for children, and real choice for parents. Raising the Next Generation outlines reforms across early childhood, taxation, housing, and migration.
We want pro‑family policy that gives women economic security during caregiving years, supports fathers in shared responsibility, strengthens regional communities, and makes family formation realistic again for ordinary Australians.
Thank you to my colleagues Dr Anne Webster, Matt Canavan, Darren Chester and Pat Conaghan, for advocating pro-family policies and to the authors Gerard Holland and Virginia Tapscott, for their work on this thought-provoking paper.
NOW WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU so we can make it easier for young Australians to have families: senator....@aph.gov.au
