DUNKLEY MP Peta Murphy has called on the federal government to reinstate JobKeeper payments to early childhood educators.
Ms Murphy says that the sector was removed from JobKeeper eligibility on 20 July, and that it must be reinstated “immediately”.
“We have heard over and over again about educators being stood down or losing pay during the lockdown, including here in Dunkley. The Prime Minister’s employment guarantee isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Ripping JobKeeper away from the sector was ill-conceived and now Victorian educators are paying the price,” Ms Murphy said.
“One-third of early educators were deliberately excluded from the JobKeeper scheme, even though the payment was essential for those services and educators that received it.
“The federal government needs to support this sector to protect jobs and ensure that children get the best possible start in life. The first thing that should be done is to return JobKeeper to the sector in Victoria.”