Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to highlight my concerns on behalf of the Yarram district community in relation to the provision of childcare services and this government’s broken promise to build 260 childcare centres across Australia. At the time of the government’s announcement that it would now build only 38 childcare centres, there was a justification put forward by the government and the ridiculous proposition by the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare and Youth, who claimed there are enough childcare places around Australia when in fact we have many smaller towns—many in my own electorate of Gippsland—still struggling to establish any service whatsoever. Families in regional areas such as Gippsland certainly deserve better than broken promises when it comes to key community issues such as childcare services.

The Yarram district community has worked for several years to try and achieve childcare facilities on behalf of working parents in the region. In the lead-up to the 2007 election, my predecessor, Peter McGauran, committed $1 million from a re-elected coalition government to provide childcare services in the Yarram region. That of course would have just been passed as an election commitment. The change of government would have seen the end of that commitment, I suppose, except that the Labor candidate at the time also endorsed that position. The Labor candidate, Ms Rowe, was quoted in the Yarram Standard of 31 October 2007 as saying that she had also pledged that a childcare centre would be incorporated into a broader community centre rather than a stand-alone complex. That promise has gone by the wayside in the subsequent three years and with the government’s decision in relation to building the 260 childcare centres.

Last Friday I met with the Mayor of the Wellington Shire Council, Scott Rossetti; the state member of parliament, Peter Ryan; and Alison Payne, who has been at the forefront of the community’s efforts to secure childcare services in Yarram. From that meeting it was resolved to continue to pursue options and to seek to still develop a service in Yarram as soon as possible. But the question for the community is where to go next, given the government’s broken promise and the government’s decision to change the rules halfway through the process. I do note that in the minister’s, Kate Ellis’s, announcement of 22 April she says that the government:

… acknowledge that there are some circumstances where families face challenges finding child care that meets their particular requirements and we will continue to keep a watching brief on the child care market and child care vacancies and … take action if required.

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I urge the minister to extend her watching brief to include the community of Yarram and to take action, which is most certainly required. It makes it very difficult for a small regional centre to attract professionals—particularly those in the health industry—when there are no support services for mothers, in particular, returning to the workforce. I urge the minister to come true with her own undertakings in that press release and in a subsequent press release on 29 April, where she said:

All Australian families deserve high quality, affordable and accessible child care services no matter where they live and this funding will help achieve that.

It does beg the question to the minister: what about Yarram? When will you start looking seriously at the needs of small, regional towns in relation to—(Time expired)