As unlikely as it is to see a Labor leader in northern Sydney, parental advocate Georgie Dent says it's even more unlikely to see a politician engaged in the childcare conversation.
Around a kitchen table in the traditionally blue-ribbon seat, Anthony Albanese heard the childcare woes of working parents.
There were stories from a mother who struggled to find child care for her neurodiverse daughter, a father who said the system reinforced traditional structures which negatively impacted women and another who at one point spent more on child care than rent.
"Going back to work is an expensive hobby," mother-of-three Dinah Thomasset said.
Ms Dent, executive director of advocacy agency The Parenthood, said making early childhood education and care more affordable and accessible would support families.
"(It's) the smartest economic and social reform we can pursue," she said.
Mr Albanese promised parents cheaper child care for more working families, as part of his pledge to lower the cost of living for Australians.
But he stopped short of guaranteeing Labor would attach superannuation to paid parental leave.
While he said that is a policy he would like to introduce, it was not going to happen in Labor's first term given Australia's debt levels.
"It's something that would be a positive move but one of the things we're doing in this election is under-promising so we can over-deliver," he told reporters on Wednesday.
"We're not promising to do everything we would like to do in our first term."
