Thursday, 30 November 2023

Motions

Early childhood education

Debate resumed on motion of Sheena Watt:

That this house notes that the Allan Labor government leads the nation in early childhood through its Best Start, Best Life reforms by:

(1) delivering 50 government owned and operated early learning centres;

(2) establishing free kinder, saving families $2500 for each child every year; and

(3) introducing pre-prep, a play-based learning program for every four-year-old child.

Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (17:41): What a way to finish off the year. I am pleased to rise to speak to this motion as listed on the paper. Broadly speaking, I do not think anyone would want to do anything which hampers the development of a young person, but I do have some things to say about this motion, in particular point (2). Point (2) says, amongst other things, ‘establishing free kinder, saving families $2500 for each child every year’. $2500 for each child every year is actually not true. If you look on the government’s own website – I have actually gone on there and got copies, and I will quote you directly from the website – it says:

Free Kinder means a saving of up to $2,500 …

a year. If I look at this motion, that suggests that it is a flat rate of $2500 a year. That is just not true. It is factually incorrect. Even further to the point, on the government’s website again, and I will quote directly, it says:

Free Kinder payments for 2023 for a 15-hour program are as follows:

• integrated long day care programs … where enrolled children also attract Commonwealth … payments ‍… will attract $2,000 –

not $2500, $2000 –

• Sessional (standalone) services will receive $2,500 …

So to say that every child will attract a $2500 benefit is just plain wrong. It is literally factually incorrect. Maybe there might be an amendment that might be moved to correct this motion, but as it stands it is actually quite incorrect and does not pass the pub test.

To say that every young person attracts $2500 – the government on their own website even say that that is not the case, because that is assuming that everyone goes for the full 15 hours, and we know that that might not be the case because different families have different needs. So again, it is quite a deceptive statement to put in a motion – again, factually untrue. I can quote the figures here. For sessional, 15 hours, $2500 – tick, that is right. For 10 hours it is $1600 or thereabouts. For 7½ hours there is $1250. For long day care, which some families opt to take, 15 hours only attracts $2000, 7½ ‍hours is $1000, and for those families that do not take that fully up there is a pro rata rate depending on what you use.

Back to point (2):

establishing free kinder, saving families $2500 for each child every year …

It just is not true. It is false – 100 per cent false. Send it off to RMIT fact check; they will prove that it is false.

Also on the government’s website – it is fascinating reading if anyone who wrote this motion actually cared to read it – it says:

If a service conducts occasional special events –

such as an excursion –

… then a charge may be made to families for the cost recovery for this event …

Now, we have all heard many, many times that this is free kinder. Well, clearly kinder is not free. This whole naming it as free kinder is false, it is misleading and it is unfair, because it is actually not free. I mean, in the big scheme of things, someone pays for it. If you called it subsidised kinder – true, it is subsidised, but it is not free. It is a bit like the power saving bonus; it is not free. It is like free TAFE; it is not actually free. And here is another example.

Gayle Tierney: It works, though.

Joe McCRACKEN: But it is not true, that is the thing. It is not true. It is just a subsidy. It is just a subsidy, and it is actually proof. It is proof that it is just a marketing ploy. That is all it is. If we actually called it what it actually was, it would be called subsidised not free, but it would actually be truthful. So let us just be very honest about this. No-one wants to say that kindergarten is not an important service. We do acknowledge that, but to say that this motion is factually correct – it is not, it is clearly not. The government’s own website says so. If this motion was changed and it said ‘up to $2500’, that would probably make it better.

A member interjected.

Joe McCRACKEN: Up to $2500. It is probably all Jeff Kennett’s fault again. We have heard all that before. But to be fair, let us just make sure that this is actually correct. Let us make sure this is actually correct – much like cancelling the Commonwealth Games. So please, when we talk about this $2500, it is not a flat fee. It is just not, and that is what this motion says, so how about we actually make someone read their own government website and get it right before putting it to the house.

Tom McINTOSH (Eastern Victoria) (17:48): I am delighted to have an opportunity to finish off the year by speaking to something I am absolutely passionate about and that is our Best Start, Best Life investment that we are making in future generations of Victorians. It is almost like a half volley. I feel like Glenn Maxwell seeing that ball coming down when he hit that double century a few weeks ago, seeing the opposition stand up and speak against investing in our children. It is quite amazing. We have a lot of summaries today – summaries of beliefs, of value sets – and I think this says it all: this side is a side that is very clear on its purpose and on that side the public of Victoria is very clear on theirs. We have heard a lot of false platitudes, we have heard them talking out of the sides of their mouths about housing, about youth and about mental health today, but Victorians know that at the end of the day the side of politics that is going to deliver for all Victorians is this side. It is this side. Something I am very passionate about in politics is that generational change, ensuring that every generation has a better opportunity than the last. Some of the items that I will speak through today deliver that in droves.

Dr Bach gave his final speech here today. I would like to acknowledge Dr Bach. It has been great to be opposite him for the last year. I am sad he did not make some more reflections on the current state of the Liberal Party. I think that is probably where he is at his best with some of his most astute comments. But he did talk about the negativity of opposition. We have seen Mr McCracken stand up and illustrate exactly that worst negativity. Here we are investing in future generations of Victorians and supporting the families of those future generations of Victorians, because not only are our three-year-olds and our four-year-olds getting access to hours of education; not only are we ensuring that they are doing it in upgraded facilities, which I am going to go through in detail – all the investment we have made in the region of Eastern Victoria alone; and not only are we building 50 new centres that will be co-located with other community assets where there are jobs and so families can get the best from avoiding double drop-off; we are getting parents back to work and predominantly getting women back to work, because we know that women are watching other people go past.

Traditionally they are out of the workforce. Other people sail by; they get back and other people have had promotions. So let us get them back to work. Let us ensure they are getting their superannuation, something that I am sure for decades you would have fought against – as if we would want people contributing to their wealth! As we have seen in recent years, ‘Let’s just raid the super funds for housing’ – because we know you do not value housing. You just sort of pipe up and say a little bit when the opportunities come, but the thing with you people is there is never a plan, there is never a purpose that sets values that lead you to policies that you actually want to deliver for people. We know you do not have it. You will come and you will say a few words on this and you will say a few words on that, but by gosh you will never set a plan to deliver.

Mr McCracken talked about Kennett. That is the worst of this side that Victorians know and remember. But I think you are right; I think we do need to talk about Napthine and Baillieu – Nap Time and Dr Doolittle – four years of nothing. This state stood still. You can talk to anybody in this state –

Joe McCracken interjected.

Tom McINTOSH: It wasn’t a zinger, Mr McCracken. There are too many Macs in this place. This state stood still. You can talk to anybody, whether it is business, whether it is worker-led, whatever it is – everybody acknowledges that nothing happened because there was no plan, there was no purpose, there was no value set driving it. Our values are exactly what is driving this work, like so many of the incredible things that we have done in government, whether that is the Royal Commission into Family Violence, whether that is the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, whether that is the support we have for workers or the investment in infrastructure that is getting Victorians from A to B so they can live in a safe, secure, quality home. They can get the education, the training and the skills to go out and get good-quality jobs, well-paid jobs so they can support their families. They can look after their families, and those families can go into quality early education. They have got the health services and the public transport, and of course we are looking after the environment and the climate that we all depend on to ensure that future generations have the quality of life that we and those before us have had.

I want to start to talk about the region of Eastern Victoria, because there are so many investments that I do not think anybody could memorise them all. That is how much this government cares about early education and that is how much we are investing. Woodland Early Learning Centre in Mount Eliza is open; Lucknow Primary School, open; Leongatha Early Learning Centre, $2 million – that is exactly what it says right here. Foster Prom Coast Centre for Children is open. Gumnuts Early Learning Centre in Sale – I went along for the opening of that. That was magic – absolutely magic. The community are coming together and the kids are coming together and getting better outcomes and better outcomes for regional Victorians because regional Victorians, in fact all Victorians, know exactly your position on education.

It was very good to hear Minister Tierney giving you a piece of her mind while you were having your say, Mr McCracken, because she was exactly right. You ripped the guts out of TAFE. Most of you would not know where a TAFE is let alone have ever attended one, and that is why you will never invest in them – because you are philosophically opposed to people getting the training and skills that they need. Then you turn around and you abandon workers, and there is no foresight to the industries that workers can work on or the training that they need to deliver that work.

The Herd Intergenerational Learning Centre in Mornington, an incredible place with an aged care facility and child care coming together with a glass window between the two, is ahead of its time. Two sisters that saw work that was going on in Seattle years ago made an investment. The state government, along with the aged care facility provider, got on board. That is such an incredible program that is bringing young and old together and getting incredible results for both of them.

Korumburra Primary School – we are going to have 66 places onsite at the school. I know that the community is absolutely delighted about that and that we are looking at the growth of a regional town. Towns are growing everywhere. This is what people talk to me about: the growth and opportunity that has been occurring in our regions for the best part of – more than – two decades, since Bracksy came in and said, ‘You know what? We’re not going to ignore the regions. We’re not going to rip the guts out of them. We’re going to invest in them.’ That is exactly what we are doing. Another example: Yarram Early Learning Centre – $2 million for another 66 spots there. It is sensational. Tootgarook Primary School, Lakes Entrance Primary School and Mirboo North Early Learning Centre are absolutely rapt, as is another one in Sale. There is so much going on.

I want to take an opportunity to focus on the workers. The workers in this sector are incredible, beautiful people. They are setting up our kids, the future of Victoria, to ensure that from that early age ‍– and this cannot be overlooked – emotional and academic development is occurring in our three-year olds and four-year olds as they head off to primary school. It gives them exactly what this is about: the best start to a best life. That is why it is transformational. It is transformational for people, it is transformational for families, it is transformational for communities and it is a fantastic thing for our economy. The productivity of our state for future generations to come will benefit from this investment in our young.

As I said before, the current benefits are massive. In a time of inflation investing in people getting back to work is just so incredibly important to our families and is such an incredibly popular policy that we have taken and are implementing. It is $14 billion of investment. It is just so, so valuable. Minister Tierney, through our TAFE program, is ensuring that we are training the workers and instilling in them the skills to deliver that platform. We are talking thousands and thousands of workers delivering for the children and the families of this state. We are just upskilling and upskilling the sector, and it is a fantastic thing.

We know those opposite are there talking out of the sides of their mouths. They do not want to see that investment made because, we know – I will keep coming back to it – there is no purpose, there is no plan. It is not in their political DNA to believe in anything other than the free market. That is why Victorians know they can never look to the Liberal coalition for a plan. They can never look to the Liberal opposition to deliver, because they are ideologically opposed to it. That is their position. They have an ideological opposition to ever doing anything. They will sit on their hands, whether it is in state politics or in federal politics. We saw that in 10 years in federal politics they did nothing. It does not matter what policy area you look at – whether it is jobs, whether it is investment in research, whether it is the housing situation we find ourselves in or whether it is planning to ensure there are skilled workforces – that side never have the plan, because it is fundamentally not in their DNA. It is not in their DNA, and nor will it ever be. That is why people just will not vote for them, because they know that they have no plan, they have no purpose and they will never, ever deliver.

I have got 2½ minutes left. There are a few other things I would like to wrap up for the year. I do want to again in all seriousness acknowledge Dr Bach’s leaving. He has made lots of valuable contributions, and I think it is important that despite our political differences of opinion, as he discussed, being able to work with ministers and being able to work across the aisle to get outcomes for the people of Victoria is incredibly important. I will not say anything more, as on the other side I am not sure if they are talking about him or about me. Hopefully they are talking about me and not him, because I want him to go out carried on shoulders, as he should be.

A member interjected.

Tom McINTOSH: I was going to talk about footy, actually. I was going to leave that to my last 30 seconds.

A member interjected.

Tom McINTOSH: I do. I have to, actually. I have actually been asked to say it. To reflect on the year, as I said in a members statement, Collingwood footy club, the culture that they had, a history where there had been racism, sexism and homophobia – turning that all around, with the pinnacle of that being Bobby Hill with four goals and a Norm Smith medal in the grand final, was absolutely incredible. When we invest in culture we get outcomes, and we have seen that through Craig McRae and Darcy Moore.

Bev McArthur interjected.

Tom McINTOSH: Absolutely. They acknowledged there was a cultural issue, and they took that culture head on, and that is what this side has done. What happened this week? This week we got 50 per cent of this place for women in Parliament, and I tell you what, it is not through the help of you lot over there. It is this side that has led the way. This side has led the way, and we now have 50 per cent women in Parliament. We have still got a lot of work to do on diversity. We have got a lot of work to do, and we will keep at it, and I hope we do it together.

To wrap up, the Best Start, Best Life motion –

Bev McArthur: You’d have to put a skirt on, Tom, to get down on the front bench.

Tom McINTOSH: I’d look pretty good. Best Start, Best Life is an incredible investment in our state. It is an investment in our children, it is an investment in our families, it is an investment in our workers and it is an investment that we are absolutely dedicated to making because the economic benefits to our young, to our families and to the productivity of this state are going to flow for years and years to come. Despite their lack of purpose, despite their lack of a plan and despite their ideology, we will deliver for Victorians.

The PRESIDENT: Mr McCracken was on the end of some pretty vigorous interjections, and then Mr McIntosh has been on the end of some pretty vigorous interjections, so I reckon the ledger is even. I will call Mr Luu, and he will be heard in silence.

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (18:03): Thank you, President. I rise to speak on this motion taking note of the government’s announced Best Start, Best Life reform. I welcome this initiative, which will assist my constituents in the west and benefit children in my area and help them on their way to flourishing in life. I am concerned, however, about the government’s ability to fully deliver this program as many programs and promises have been cancelled in recent times. I have said many times in this chamber and will not stop saying it until the government starts taking it seriously: the west, Western Metropolitan Region, is the fastest growing area in Victoria, and one of the fastest growing areas in the whole country. The population growth has been incredibly rapid in the last decade and shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. Every service is under pressure – the trains and the buses are packed, the roads are congested, the schools are bursting at the seams. For so long this government has neglected my electorate in the west because they consider it a safe Labor seat.

Any investment in the west is at the bottom of their priority list. When it comes to kinders and early learning centres you will not be surprised to learn the west is lagging behind the rest of Victoria. Most of the people that move here are young families or young couples planning to start a family. That means in the west we have more kids than other areas. In Victoria and Australia at large about 6 per cent of the population are children up to four years of age, but in Wyndham, for example, 9 per cent of the population are children up to four years of age. We have more kids than other areas, so we need more kinders in these rapidly growing areas. The government knows about this growth, and it should be proactively delivering infrastructure, including facilities like kinders and primary schools, before the growth happens. But they have spent years neglecting the west, breaking promises and cancelling infrastructure.

Just look at the critical transport infrastructure that has been promised for the west and then cancelled: airport link, a new Keilor station, Sunshine station upgrade to a superhub – cancelled, postponed. When will it start? We do not know. Extra tracks from Sunshine to the CBD – not there. Electrification of the train lines to Melton and Wyndham Vale – cancelled. School infrastructure is what we need in the west. This motion has promised to provide the Best Start, Best Life reforms. It is the same story for the kinders and early learning centres mentioned in this motion. The government say they will deliver 50 government owned and operated early learning centres. How many will the west actually get? Will they promise new kinders for the west? Will they delay and eventually cancel them again?

Let me give some examples of this government neglecting the west in investment in critical school infrastructure which they promised for the west in recent times. I visited two schools earlier this year, Rosehill Secondary College and Tarneit Senior College. In Rosehill, outdoor activities were deemed too dangerous for students because of waterlogged play areas after heavy rain, a drainage problem. Whenever it rained or we had heavy weather, their playground was waterlogged, so it was fenced off. Proper drainage in public school grounds should be a matter of basic facility management, but this important work has been forgotten. I raised this matter earlier this year in this chamber. Tarneit college ‍– another matter I raised earlier was their sporting facilities. Tarneit has over 1,100 students, with only one soccer pitch to play on and one unshaded courtyard. It is supposed to be a newly developed school. Right next to the college is a block of vacant land fenced off, and since it was developed in 2012 it has been empty. They need funds to develop a sporting oval, but they have been waiting since 2012. This motion is about early childhood learning, rather than secondary colleges, but I bring these up as examples of the neglect the government has for the western suburbs when it comes to basic school facilities and infrastructure and in relation to education and childhood learning development.

Forsyth Creek – let me give an example of neglect in childhood learning. In Truganina three out of four schools in the area are expected to be over capacity. Despite this situation, the government decided to cancel the planned building of the Forsyth Creek primary school on the Ellarook housing estate. Again, I raised this matter earlier this year. They cancelled a primary school in one of the fastest growing areas, where the existing schools are already over capacity. Internal Department of Education planning documents state that Truganina needs an additional 250 student places in its school network in the area, yet they decided to cancel a planned primary school in that area.

This government is announcing a plan to build kinders and early learning centres at the same time as it is breaking promise after promise after promise to build primary schools in my electorate in the west, so I ask: how many kinders will we actually get in the most rapidly growing area of Victoria? Given its track record, can we be confident in this government keeping its promise? Is the kinder program going to actually be completed, or is it just another program to announce to generate some publicity and generate some social media before they start cutting the program again?

In closing, we welcome the investment in early childhood centres in this motion. It is the most important stage in the life of a child for learning fundamental skills that will benefit them for the rest of their life. I hope the government follows through on its promise. I hope they deliver this critical infrastructure in the west for my constituents. But given the government’s track record, I do not hold my breath. I am concerned that the west again will get this promise of new services only to have the promise broken again.

Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (18:11): I am very pleased at any stage of proceedings in this parliamentary year to rise and talk about early childhood education, in particular to speak to Ms Watt’s motion:

That this house notes that the Allan Labor government leads the nation in early childhood through its Best Start, Best Life reforms by:

(1) delivering 50 government owned and operated early learning centres;

(2) establishing free kinder, saving families $2500 for each child every year; and

(3) introducing pre-prep, a play-based learning program for every four-year-old …

I had the privilege a couple of times throughout this parliamentary sitting year, 2023, of being on the record about the importance of early learning and about high-quality early learning services here in Victoria, and I think the benefits that high-quality early learning brings to our children, the developmental benefits that we fundamentally know come from high-quality early learning, really cannot be disputed. On these matters the science is definitely in. The neurological science, the neural pathways that are formed and the better neural pathway formulation that occurs in young children when they are in high-quality learning environments have been comprehensively studied in recent years and comprehensively proven to lead to better developmental outcomes and to better educational outcomes. And what we have seen from multigenerational studies in various parts of the world, including in the United States, is that those initiatives have generational outcomes for children in that those children who are participating in high-quality early learning programs are much more likely to be employed in their adult life and not only are much more likely to complete secondary schooling but are much more likely to go on and participate in further vocational or tertiary education.

There is absolutely no doubt that investments that we make in children before they go to school, supporting their development as well as providing them with care environments, but particularly supporting their education and development, are investments that absolutely benefit those children but also our broader community, because investment in what is in its crudest and coldest terms human capital formation is fundamentally about providing a rich learning environment that allows their brains to develop in more sophisticated ways. That has been proven again and again and again by developmental science both here in Melbourne, where we have some absolutely world-leading developmental scientists and children’s researchers – Murdoch Children’s Research Institute is just one – and also in other parts of the country. Obviously, the leading work that is happening in Western Australia by the Telethon Kids Institute, led for many years by Professor Fiona Stanley, has proven again and again and again the absolute benefits these sorts of high-quality, rich learning environments have for the development of young children.

So I think from a science level it is irrefutable that the sorts of initiatives that this government, the Allan Labor government, is making such a significant priority for our state are ones that can and do have significant benefits and we should absolutely be supporting. That is the fundamental reason why investment in early learning is so important – because it benefits the children of our community – and we should need no further reason than that, I think, to justify why the government’s investments are so critical.

The way that the state Labor government is investing in our children is multifaceted. Obviously we know that the package of programs, our Best Start, Best Life reforms, are a significant package of measures designed to benefit our young children. A key part of that is our demonstration of the state government’s own enthusiasm for children and early learning by establishing 50 government owned and operated early learning centres, which is not only supporting children’s development but looking at those parts of our community, those areas across Greater Melbourne and regional Victoria, where there are the greatest shortages of access to high-quality early learning and care, where access to child care or access to early learning is the lowest. Where we have these child care shortages, the government is stepping in and stepping up to the plate and building the very facilities that residents in these communities need. What we are doing with these services is trying to, where possible, co-locate them with our schools so that we can provide a seamless transition across all the early learning centres. I have spoken a lot this year about the benefits of early learning. I could spend all day and all night doing it, but I might sit down right now.

Lee TARLAMIS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (18:17): I move:

That debate on this motion be deferred until the next day of meeting.

Motion agreed to.