TRANSCRIPT:
I am pleased to rise today and speak on this matter of public importance submitted by the member for Preston. While it is an attempt to be self-indulgent and pat the government on the back, I must give the Labor government a healthy dose of reality. One major point in this matter I want to address is the hundreds of new and upgraded schools that this government boasts about. Within my electorate is Kilmore, the largest town in Victoria without a public secondary school, located in one of the biggest growth corridors in the state. The only secondary school option currently in Kilmore is Assumption College, a private school that has fees starting from nearly $9000 a year. Assumption is an excellent school because it did produce one of my fabulous staff members and digital wizards; however, not everyone in Kilmore has the opportunity to attend private school.
Down the road in Broadford and Wallan the schools are already at or nearing capacity, and students as young as 12 years old are having to make a 2-hour commute to and from school each day. The need for a school in Kilmore has been repeatedly brought to this government’s attention, yet it has been ignored every time. There was a golden opportunity just missed due to a lack of urgency and care from this government and the former Minister for Education. Despite thousands of local residents signing petitions calling for the state government to purchase the former Colmont School campus, it has recently been sold to a private company. The previous Minister for Education was made aware of this opportunity on multiple occasions and was invited to meet with local families to hear how desperately locals need this school. Instead, she did nothing, demonstrating a short-sightedness and arrogance that has resulted in hundreds of families being left without reasonable local education options. This former school campus was ready-made and conveniently on the market and had the opportunity to provide a cost-effective solution to this very real problem for our community, so I ask: why should these children be placed at such a disadvantage just because of where they live? This is not some rural, remote location. This is Kilmore, one of the fastest-growing towns in our state. It is time to listen to the community and provide them with a public school, so to help this government listen I have some direct quotes from Kilmore residents who signed the petition. There were nearly 3500 signatures, so buckle up. Rachel Fairman said:
Education, family’s and children should not have to suffer exhaustion to gain an education …
Jamie Leahy said:
I have 3 kids who will all need a high school to go to soon. I shouldn’t have to bus them out of town so they can get the education they deserve!
Meghan Thorpe said:
I have 2 children that will be attending high school in the next few years my husband and I can’t afford a private school and don’t want to travel really far away …
And I think that is a pretty fair request. Margaret Kelly said:
There is an empty school, you don’t have a school, yet somehow the government is not joining the dots!
Tracey Challis said:
The amount of housing getting built in the area, the growth of the township and surrounding areas, there is definitely enough families to warrant a public highschool … A town this size and only offering a private school is just wrong. There has been talks and petitions … This has been needed for several years. To no avail. It’s about time the government listened.
Rebecca Hocking said:
We need more options for public high schools in the area, having a public high school option for Kilmore will relieve commuting stress factors and make schools more accessible. Families in Kilmore shouldn’t have to be forced into paying for a private school, as they are our only options within our town, or having to commute to a completely different town just so their child can receive an education.
I think everyone in the chamber can agree that everyone deserves an education close to their home. These are just a handful of the thousands of responses received of nearly 3500 signatures. We could fill the school tomorrow, yet I am getting crickets out of this government, who is bold enough to brag about its education investments. How can this government pat themselves on the back about their contributions to education while this goes on?
Another point I must raise and bring some clarity on is the state of child care in Victoria, particularly in regional areas. We have seen the announcement of 50 new child early learning centres that will be established across our state – hold on for the reality check. As part of the government’s rollout of new early learning centres I was pleased that Seymour, located within my electorate, was included to alleviate some of the strain on the system locally. But let me tell you, our community is angry about this misleading announcement. The reality that this will not be delivered until beyond 2028, if it is delivered at all – if we can trust this government is capable of delivering a project – is an absolute slap in the face to parents wanting but needing to return to work. This headline-grabbing announcement has prevented private and not-for-profits from filling the childcare void, yet this government has no goal to actually deliver and relieve childcare waitlists. I just received this message this morning from Alicia in Nagambie, who highlighted the six-month waitlist in Nagambie, which is up to two years in many surrounding towns – two years. Just four out of these so-called 50 centres have been confirmed in the first round, with three of them being found in Labor seats. The issue goes far beyond delays for Seymour. This government has a clear track record of overpromising and underdelivering for Victorians. I have serious concerns that the Best Start, Best Life initiative will be added to this ever-growing list. Initial estimates for the cost of these 50 childcare centres was tabled at $484 million. So far land has only been located for four of the 50 childcare centres, and on top of that, no-one knows where 20 of these 50 centres will be located, including this government. I have quite a few suggestions for my electorate of Euroa.
We are already seeing a scramble by this government to find ways to deliver yet another program they have announced without a suitable or thought-out plan. As this happens, kindergartens across the state are nervously waiting for any scrap of detail. As usual, this government has failed to adequately consult with stakeholders, with kinders and childcare centres finding out about so-called free kinder reforms and the new funding regime mere months before being expected to operate under the new arrangements. We have seen how the Commonwealth Games, or lack thereof, embarrassingly ended. Now we are expected to trust this government to implement this project without an issue, on time and under budget. But you have not earned that credibility.
As things currently stand regional Victoria is in dire need of more childcare centres. Kilmore, Broadford, the Benalla region and the Seymour region are all classified as childcare deserts by the Mitchell Institute. These are major towns, not inaccessible backwaters, but they are being placed at a disadvantage when child care is so rare. The lack of childcare options is placing a significant barrier on young people who want to raise their family in regional Victoria. We have got incredible local childcare providers, but in most of these places there are up to six kids competing for each place – it is not sustainable. Towns like Nagambie and Avenel were not even included in their announcements despite serious problems finding local child care in these areas. The issues raised in the responses, including multiyear waitlists, are part of a petition I put out for a survey and a review for local parents who are in desperate need of childcare providers.
The responses shared overwhelmingly negative experiences, with 100 per cent of respondents saying they had been adversely impacted by access to child care in the region. I would like to add one more example from Lauren in Seymour, an incredible landscape architect with two gorgeous boys. She also volunteers on absolutely every community event in town. She said:
Nash has been on the Goodstart nursery waitlist since July 2022 with the hope that he would start daycare at 12 months of age in June 2023.
In April 2023 we were offered a day which I didn’t take because I intended to be on mat leave for 12 months.
It wasn’t until August 2023 that one day became available meaning I couldn’t return to work more than one day until that time …
We still only have 1 day a week and every Thursday when I drop Noah –
her other child –
off, I ask if Nash can have a casual day this is completely dependent upon another child in the nursery being away or sick.
This is literally parents waiting at the door of childcare centres for access. It is completely unacceptable. Another mum Lou, a local nurse, who recently had two delicious twin boys Freddie and Tommy, is on a 40-strong waitlist in Seymour for a centre that can take eight babies. This government genuinely promised a centre so far down the track that these boys will be at school before this centre even starts to get built. My community is not the only one suffering with these issues. All-year kinder and education has been mentioned so many times in press conferences, motions, bills and more, yet when it comes to action, we have seen very little and our communities continue to suffer.
I would like to make a big shout-out to all of our local teachers and childcare providers for what they do considering the lack of investment. They go above and beyond, in particular Yaya, my little daughter Quinn’s teacher, and my son Arthur’s teachers as well. It is incredible how much they dedicate and allow us mothers and parents to be here.