ACT

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Greens

The Greens will make Early Childhood Education free, quality, and publicly provided, just like schools. This would include supporting the workforce so that all teachers and educators have fair wages and staAing levels are appropriate.

Labour

Labour will ensure that our youngest learners are getting the best start to life possible.

We need an affordable, accessible ECE sector that delivers a high-quality education and prepares young people to learn.

National

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NZ First

New Zealand First supports reviewing adult-to-infant staffing ratios as an urgent health and safety matter, funding parent-led Playcentres and Kohanga Reo, restoring 100% registered teacher targets, and expanding early learning support delivery to stabilize the workforce.

Opportunity

Opportunity recognises that high-quality early childhood education depends on a wellqualified, stable and well remunerated workforce.

We will restore the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2020. This is particularly important for early childhood teachers, whose pay equity claim was discontinued under the 2025 amendments.  

More broadly, we will ensure that ECE is properly supported so that centres can provide safe, high-quality environments for our youngest citizens and attract and retain a skilled workforce.  

Te Pāti Māori

Te Pāti Māori will reverse the ECE changes passed under the current government which aimed to lower pay for our kaiako and place the profits of ECE centres over the wellbeing of our tamariki and teaches.