Debate resumed on the motion:

That this House:

(1) affirms its strong support for all forms of early childhood learning a nd recognises the importance of pre-school on the development of children and as a foundation for their future education;

(2) notes that the Gillard Government has mandated that ' four-year-old kindergartens ' provide at least 15 hours per week of instruction by a university-trained teacher by 2013 under its ' Universal Access ' policy;

(3) notes that the Gillard Government has not considered the consequ ences of its ' Universal Access ' policy on Victorian kindergartens where ' three-year-old kindergarten ' is more commonly offered than by other jurisdictions;

(4) notes that the consequence of ' Universal Access ' on Victoria ' s kin dergartens is that many will no longer be able to offer ' three-year-old kindergarten ' programs because facilities are often shared between three and ' four-year-old kindergarten ' programs;

(5) acknowledges that this policy will effectively remove the choic e for many Victorian parents of sending their three-year-old children to kindergarten;

(6) notes that some rural kindergartens could face the risk of closure because there is a shortage of qualified teachers in rural areas, and due to the increase in mandated hours, many rural kindergartens will no longer be able to share teachers;

(7) notes that warnings of this imminent crisis for Victoria ' s kindergartens have been given directly to the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth by the Municipal Association of Victoria, parent groups, kindergarten operators and parliamentarians; and

(8) calls on the Government to:

(a) provide flexibility for kindergarten operators to deliver kindergarten servic es according to the needs of their own communities and in line with local infrastructure and staffing capacity; or

(b) at the very least, provide flexibility on the start date for t he implementation of ' Universal Access ' .

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