Last night, as the Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Learning, I celebrated with the nominees and award winners at the Australian Childcare Alliance Excellence in Early Childhood Education Awards for New South Wales at an awards night in Sydney. This is what I said:



There are some events that should be compulsory experiences for all those who are committed to, champion, and work for excellence in early childhood education, and tonight is one of those events.Your enthusiasm, passion and commitment is infectious here this evening.Congratulations for being here as we celebrate you!

We are here to celebrate the achievements, talent and dedication of early childhood educators and providers across tonights thirty-six excellence award categories, and I am grateful to the Australian Childcare Alliance, and this evenings sponsors for making this celebration possible.

We are here to be inspired by those who have achieved the highest standards in early childhood education; and, we are here to be motivated and galvinised to go back and carry on the great work that we are doing in local communities across our State.

There are some events that should be compulsory experiences for all those who continue to harbour any of those old misguided stereo-types that say that the early childhood education sector is somehow a poor cousin to the primary and secondary education sectors. I wish they were here to meet you, to be converted by you, as we hear your stories as our award winners this evening. You dont need me to rehearse to you the pivotal role that early childhood education has in shaping the future of our State and our Nation.

As the Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Learning it is my job to champion the work of early childhood educators and providers such as you, on behalf of the Government Opposition, the Labor Party, in the New South Wales State Parliament. It is the greatest of privileges for me to be able to travel all around our wonderful State to meet policy advisors and researchers, and educators and staff, and parents and grandparents and carers, and the children who are being educated in our sector.

All of us here this evening know that the earlier in life that we start to make friends, the better we will be at keeping friends in the future; and the earlier that we start to feel confident about ourselves and our abilities to try new things, the more confident we will feel about living life to the full in the future.

Your work is laying the strong foundations for the next generation of innovative thinkers, confident decision-makers, and creative collaborators: a generation of Australians that is fully alive to its potential.

So I am glad that I am able to be with you tonight. This is indeed a night not to be missed. I join my congratulations to you with the best wishes of Jodi McKay the Leader of the New South Wales Government Opposition. And on her behalf, and on behalf of my colleagues in the Shadow Cabinet I assure you of our commitment to continue to champion early childhood education and to support your role as educators and providers.

Enjoy this celebration of all that you have achieved this evening, it is well deserved; and remember as well the thousands of your colleagues who whilst not here this evening share the same commitments to the high standards of excellence that we see in you. Congratulations and thank you.