Thursday, 1 August 2024

Ministers statements: kindergarten funding

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:29): I rise to update the house on the Allan Labor government’s Building Blocks partnership with Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Early Years Education. Recently I had the pleasure of visiting St Lawrence of Brindisi Catholic Primary School to announce the first Building Blocks partnership in the non-government school sector, alongside the member for Melton from the other place. This $88.5 million partnership with MACS Early Years Education will provide more than 2100 new kindergarten places across six local government areas. I am proud to say that it is the Allan Labor government with this announcement taking the first step in acquitting its 2022 election commitment to build and upgrade 60 kindergartens on low-fee non-government school sites, and we are well on our way to achieving it. The first nine of these projects will be delivered for the 2026 kindergarten year. I look forward to seeing how these projects benefit their local communities on their completion, because all Victorians deserve the very best education, and that all starts with kinder.

This side of the house understands the importance of early learning, and that is why we are supporting Victorian children by expanding early learning through our $14 billion Best Start, Best Life reforms. Partnerships like this one with MACS are not the only improvements we are making through these nation-leading reforms. We are also introducing free kindergarten, pre-prep, three-year-old kinder and establishing and upgrading hundreds of kindergartens across Victoria. This includes of course the recent announcement that I was pleased to make with Mr Galea and Mr Tarlamis at Lysterfield Primary School for a kindergarten on the school site. This brings the total up to 21 kindergartens on new and existing school sites across Victoria that will be ready for term 1 2026 alongside the nine partnership projects with Melbourne archdiocese, helping families ditch the dreaded double drop-off and helping children to have a smoother transition between kinder and school. It is not just kinder, it is where children begin to learn the skills they need to succeed in school and in life, making it an incredibly important part of a child’s lifelong education. I am proud that we on this side of the house are telling you week after week how we continue to expand and improve Victoria’s early education system. I look forward to seeing these services opening over the coming years and working with MACS on their completion.