On Tuesday the government announced $5 billion over the next decade to expand access to high quality, affordable childcare across the state.

Mr Perrottet called it a "landmark investment" into the sector while Treasurer Matt Kean said investment in childcare is the best way to improve women's economic opportunity.

"The first 2000 days of a child's life are critical to their development and success and we want to ensure they get the best start possible," Mr Perrottet said.

Minister for Women Bronnie Taylor said this investment is expected to "boost childcare supply", with a focus on increasing affordable childcare in NSW.

Ms Taylor went as far as to call the announcement a "once in a generation scheme". It was just one of many childcare and pre-school funding announcements the government made this week.

But nowhere, not a breath, touched on what support is there for those who carry the industry on their shoulders every day - the educators.

The Central Western Daily's two-part dive into the early childcare sector in Orange revealed a dire shortage of early childhood educators for centres across the city.

Across the almost 40 centres in Orange, most if not all are battling a staffing crisis that has seen many either close different rooms, meaning children are forced to spend time in multiple rooms often with unfamiliar educators, or shutdown centres for days on end all together.

COVID-19 has played its part in this mess. Isolation rules, and the infectious nature of the virus, has meant staff have been impacted a lot. Anyone who's been part of the childcare world knows infections spread quickly in those settings.

But, and just as importantly, the pay and conditions staff face while employed by many childcare centres remains a real issue.

A fully qualified university graduate will earn far less while working in a childcare setting than someone with the same qualifications that chooses to go into primary schools. Those working in childcare will also work through school holidays, often start shifts at 6.30am, while some long-day care settings are open until 6.30pm, too.

That battle has made staff recruitment and retention almost an impossible task.

Right now there's more childcare centres in Orange than there's ever been before, and there's more on the way, too, meaning the "supply" issue the Premier and other Coalition ministers believe they're fixing with billions of dollars of funding just isn't there.

Sure, making childcare more affordable is important - but it's a band-aid solution.

The real issue is ensuring the people who work in the industry feel valued, and by doing that it'll mean centres can retrain the quality staff the industry is losing at a rapid rate.

Wouldn't putting our kids first mean putting educators first? And by doing just that, those passionate, loving people would have a genuine chance at making a career out of the job they love.