I hosted a roundtable of childcare providers from around the country recently and the question of how the sector can be supported to lift the quality of early education and childcare through the National Quality Standards was a hot topic of discussion. Similar questions were raised by different people; 'how are we going to pay for the new regulations?', 'how can we afford to have an early childhood teacher in every centre?', 'how does the government expect us to increase staff without increasing fees?' After lengthy discussion, one person raised their hand and asked a question that was also about cost, but with a very different focus; 'how can we, as a country, afford NOT to invest heavily in the future of our children?'

It was a striking moment that reinforced the absolutely crucial role the childcare sector plays in caring for the people who, quite literally, are the future of our nation. The Greens are 100 per cent committed to the National Quality Framework and we believe the child care sector needs more support to reach the coming targets.

It won't come as a surprise to those within the childcare sector that it can be a difficult industry to attract employees to and a difficult business in which to make ends meet. That's why the Greens are committed to finding ways to increase the quality and availability of childcare while also keeping costs down for centres and for families.

The government is good at announcing red tape and talking about minimum standards to improve the quality of childcare, but it falls short when it comes to actually providing the support required for centres to achieve those targets. The Greens on the other hand are working hard as an alternative voice in the parliament, announcing initiatives that actually support the childcare sector.

I have announced a Greens plan for a Capital Grants Fund that would see money made available to build new centres, or expand existing ones, in high need areas. The Capital Grants Fund, comprising $50 million a year, would help the childcare sector to meet the needs of communities around the country while also helping to keep costs and fees down.

Another scheme, announced in the beginning of this year, would see teachers with tertiary degrees in early childhood education encouraged into the childcare sector and then rewarded for staying there. For every year that a tertiary educated teacher chose to work in the long day care sector, an entire year of their HELP debt would be waived. If graduates choose to work in a regional or remote area, they would receive double that amount and therefore have two years of their debt wiped off for every year they spend working in the sector.

Treasury's analysis has shown that this initiative will keep at least 400 teachers in Long Day Care in the first year alone, at a cost to the government of just $2.5 million in 2013-2014. The number of people attracted to the industry, and the number of people choosing to stay, is expected to increase in following years.

The Greens have also been consistently calling for a lift in wages for all employees in the childcare sector. It is deeply concerning to me that the people entrusted with educating and caring for our children are regularly paid less than those who are cleaning the childcare centres around the country. The Government's recent announcement of a $3 an hour increase for as few as 30% of childcare employees is a step in the right direction but it definitely doesn't go anywhere near far enough.

Another common sense change that I have been fighting for is the implementation of a system where the childcare centres are directly funded, to ease the pressure on families. Many parents are paying high fees upfront and then waiting weeks, and sometimes months, for the childcare rebate to be delivered to their accounts. Breaking that debt cycle with direct payments to childcare centres is a simple step that will go a long way to helping ease the cost of living pressures being felt by Australian families while also cutting down on bureaucratic red tape for centres.

My office recently conducted a phone survey of hundreds of childcare centres around the country and then compared it to a similar poll taken in 2010. The results clearly showed that both fees and waiting lists were growing at a concerning rate. I also launched an online poll for parents, which can be found at www.childcarepoll.com, which is giving mums and dads around the country a chance to have their say. I will be announcing the results of that poll shortly but the initial signs are pointing to the fact that something has to change, and soon.

An Australia Institute report released yesterday shows that more than one in three families are struggling with the cost of childcare. The Labor Party has made two announcements regarding childcare in the last week, but they haven't offered anything to ease the cost burden on families.

It is blindingly obvious that Australian families and childcare providers need to see a substantial increase in funding to the sector, but the old parties are continuing to let them down at every turn. The Greens, on the other hand, aren't happy with simply maintaining the current situation because when service providers and parents tell us that the sector is in crisis we actually listen. I am working on a range of initiatives that are designed to help improve the level of access to, as well as the quality of, childcare services in Australia while making sure to keep the prices down for mums and dads around the country.