Here's a chance to eradicate childcare deserts. Will the Nats stand up?

The first announcement was to scrap the current Child Care Subsidy calculation system, known as "the activity test", which has long been critiqued as confusing and exclusive, and replace it with three days of guaranteed subsidy for all families.

In itself, this is a monumental win for families across Australia who are now better positioned to afford the early learning services they're after.

But having travelled around the country to some of the most neglected regional, rural and remote communities for almost two years now, part two of the Prime Minister's plans is what I'm extra excited about.

If re-elected, Labor will invest $1 billion into expanding or building 160 early learning centres in areas with chronic shortages, including regional, rural and remote Australia.

And with parents and parents-to-be increasingly flocking to the regions as metro housing prices soar, I know I'm not the only one excited about this.

It's safe to say the opposition would be wise to match Labor's commitments. Let me tell you why.

At present, 680,000 Australians live in regional, rural and remote towns without any access to childcare at all. Another 24 per cent live in what is known as a "childcare desert"; where at least three children compete for every one available childcare place.

The impacts to date are devastating, as we found in our latest report, IMPACTFUL; hurting not just the two in five children from regional, rural and remote areas that are likely to start school developmentally vulnerable, but also their parents, who face significant financial stress as they're unable to work due to the absence of care where they live.

It's a stressor that is disproportionately experienced by regional, rural and remote parents compared to those in the cities.

Consider the story of Breanna, a nurse from Dalby who worked night shifts to come home and look after her kids during the day because she couldn't access care.

Or Tegan, the psychologist and mother of two from Wangaratta who had to give up her job at the local primary school for the same reason.

Beyond the immediate cost-of-living pressures that come with being unable to work, the lack of early learning services in country towns mean that key industries like healthcare, education, agriculture and mining are understaffed and overstretched. As are the local businesses that help these towns thrive.

Fixing this is crucial for the future of country kids, parents and towns themselves, so eradicating childcare deserts should not be a partisan issue.

The message from parents, essential industries and communities is clear: childcare deserts hurt Australia, and whoever's in charge next year needs to deliver the oases.

A universal system where every child across Australia has access to early childhood education would be just the thing to achieve that.

Perpetuating the existence of childcare deserts is the lack of incentive for providers to open centres in less-populated areas where demand is lower than in the cities, and they can't charge as much. The market, under its current settings, has failed these communities.

The Parenthood, together with our alliance of more than 60 organisations campaigning for more childcare and early learning in the regions, has been advocating for the government to play a more active role where the market is failing. With this announcement, they are doing just that.

Directly allocated funding for centres means this could all be about to change. With government footing the bill, providers would be encouraged to deliver services in rural and remote communities, knowing they'll receive funding regardless of enrolments.

Another key to truly eradicating childcare deserts is the recognition that every country town in Australia is different. Their community has unique needs, and that's what makes them so special. Crucially, Labor's plans recognise this.

With the financial support to set up early education centres in diverse regional, rural and remote areas, providers would be better equipped to work with communities to meet those unique needs.

That means high-quality, tailored education for children with disability, First Nations children and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

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Public investment will also mean guaranteed work for early childhood educators, incentivising them to stay put, rather than moving on as centres reduce their hours or close altogether as we've seen in recent years.

With so much of Australian society set to benefit from the $1 billion fund, we, The Parenthood, are beyond excited about what 2025 could look like.

It brings us closer to eradicating Australia's childcare deserts than ever before.

Now, we are looking to the opposition to match the commitment, with leadership from the Nationals, who see these issues play out in their communities every day.

Because a child's right to an education is not something that should depend on where they live, their parents' income or any other uncontrollable factor.

It's a fundamental right that every Australian child deserves.