Wednesday, 17 June 2026

 Nathan LAMBERT (Preston) (10:49): Darebin council recently released a report showing that north-west Reservoir has the highest projected future demand for kindergarten places in our area, and you can see that in the number of private long day care centres that are opening up, including on Hughes Parade, Mcfadzean Avenue and another one on the corner of Henty Street and Gilbert Road. But we would like to see families in that area have access to a community-run kindergarten, if that is what they would like, so we are asking Darebin council again to partner with us in expanding Gellibrand Crescent Kindergarten.

It is a great community kindergarten. It has operated there since 1976. It has many longstanding staff, including centre director Maria Sorace, who I think has been there for 27 years; centre coordinator Nina Cifonelli; and operations manager Tracey Attards, who is also a long-term local. Importantly, it not only is a great service but also has a large site, so we can build a second room there without losing too much in the way of outdoor space. We have previously raised West Preston and JS Grey Kindergarten as a priority – they certainly are, but council’s own report shows that north-west Reservoir should be the first cab off the rank with West Preston to follow. We hope that can be reflected in Darebin council’s upcoming budget decision-making and that they can partner with us on these important projects for children in the north-west Reservoir area. Very briefly, I would just also like to acknowledge that they are very positively considering some upgrades to the Yarra Avenue entry for Reservoir East Primary School.