Ringwood electorate
Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (14:46): (1246) My constituency question is for the Minister for Children in the other place. Why is the government shutting Parentline Victoria, a service relied on by many parents and carers in my electorate of Ringwood? Parents and carers in my electorate have been in contact with my office following reports in the Herald Sun at the end of July that Parentline will close in October of this year. They are anxious about the loss of this vital support and have joined hundreds of people in signing an open letter calling for the service to be saved. For more than two decades Parentline has been a lifeline. It offers free confidential counselling from qualified social workers, psychologists, family therapists and nurses. It supports families through stress, crisis and the hardest days of parenting. It services on average 18,000 calls per year. This decision comes at a time when parents and carers are already extremely anxious following recent reports of systemic failures in child and school care settings. I call on the government to reverse this decision and ensure ongoing funding for this service.