Beazley Talks Of Assistance To Youngest Australians
July 21, 2001
The Federal Opposition Leader, Kim Beazley, gave a major speech to the Early Childhood Association Conference this week, outlining Labor's approach to assisting the very youngest Australians and their families.
In the speech, Beazley said: "People like Tony Abbott might say that the treatment of children in their early years is simply part of the series of life choices people make for themselves, and it is no business of the government. We in the Labor Party say that this is not right for three reasons.
"Firstly on social justice grounds we have always pledged ourselves to helping all the community, not just the well-off. We believe this nation can afford to ensure equality of opportunity for all its citizens, and that we should never rest in trying to achieve this aim: this is at the core of the Australian Labor Party's credo, and the reason for the party's existence.
"But secondly, we believe any hard-headed analysis shows that today's disadvantaged children are tomorrow's marginalised adults. The social costs of leaving any group behind are very high. There is now overwhelming evidence that if you get the platform of child and family services right you have fewer adults who cannot read, fewer spending time in prison and fewer without work.
"And thirdly, this country is too small to allow any of its citizens to fall by the wayside. Faced with the twin forces of the knowledge revolution, and globalisation of capital, we will need to develop the skills of as many of our citizens as we can. We are a small nation, of only 19 million people, and we want today's children to be the smart workers of the future, in satisfying jobs, contributing to a vibrant and competitive economy."
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