Politics of care in the early years in Australia since the pandemic

Abstract

Almost every part of human society have been impacted by COVID-19 and it has exposed our world’s economic and social fault lines. How each country cared for their youngest members rapidly became obvious as one of those fault lines. Many countries had inadequate early education and care systems that quickly started to buckle under the impact of lockdowns. What happened in Australia, although unique in the exact way it played out, was essentially replicated around the world. Education and care of our youngest citizens was realised to be essential, market based care systems began to crumble, the government poured more subsidies into the system, and educators and teachers watched as their roles were reduced in the public’s eye to childminders. Educators and teachers had to take on more work as they sought to engage with children at home, and sought to keep themselves safe. Eventually the government granted everybody that needed it, free ‘childcare’, a move that would see economists, feminists and families call for it to remain free once the country re-opened. The main opposition party has now joined that call and we may see a legacy of a re-imagined education and care system in Australia in the wake of the pandemic.