Juliana ADDISON (Wendouree) (14:13): On Mother’s Day we honour our mums. We celebrate the joys of motherhood and pay tribute to the women in our lives who are mother figures. I am sure this will be a particularly special day for first-mums-to-be, including the members for Ripon and Kew, and those celebrating their first Mother’s Day. I look forward to spending Sunday with my magnificent mum and two of the best mums I know, my sisters.

We are a government that has proudly amplified the voices and experiences of mothers and those wanting to become mothers. Through our early parenting centre in Ballarat, we will provide specialised support for mums closer to home. The EPC will provide expert advice to parents experiencing challenges with sleep and settling and feeding as well as extra care for babies and toddlers with additional needs. We are also investing in the Best Start, Best Life program.

Importantly, these landmark reforms are not just about providing the best early education to our littlest learners but about supporting Victorian mums by giving them more options, including returning to work and providing relief for family budgets. The Allan Labor government is also supporting women who want to become mums, with our fairer and affordable public fertility care in Victoria. We have invested $120 million to deliver the landmark program to support thousands of Victorians every year to access these services, delivering up to 3375 treatment cycles and helping people save up to $10,000.

I am also sending my love to everyone grieving for their mum this Mother’s Day and the mothers grieving for a lost child.

You can take a look at more of my speeches to Parliament here.