Ivanhoe electorate early childhood education
Mr CARBINES (Ivanhoe—Minister for Child Protection and Family Services, Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers) (09:45): Of course the Andrews government is building on the Best Start, Best Life investments. We are making sure every child has every chance to be their best, while helping more mums return to work, enabling them to work as much as they want to instead of how much they can afford to. In particular there is the Rosanna kindergarten, a $1.5 million development there at Bellevue Avenue, which is going to be a fantastic development for families in Rosanna. There is the $2 million contribution to the Bellfield community hub there along Oriel Road. It is a fantastic development there opposite Ford Park. It has almost concluded, and I am looking forward to the Minister for Early Childhood in the other place coming out to open those facilities, that Bellfield community hub, which will include kindergarten facilities and child care for young people and families across Bellfield. And there is a further $1.5 million investment for KU in Heidelberg in Stradbroke Avenue for further long day care places, some 84 long day care places, including for another 44 kindergarten children.
These significant investments build of course on establishing 50 new centres located in communities that need them the most across those extended hours across the state. The first centre is opening from 2025, and it will introduce pre-prep transitioning for four-year-old kinder into a new free 30-hour play-based learning year. These are really significant investments. They are going to save families an average of $2500 per child a year. They are very significant investments, and we are seeing that happening across the Ivanhoe electorate.