Thursday, 1 August 2024

Eastern Victoria Region

Tom McINTOSH (Eastern Victoria) (12:51): (998) My question is to the Minister for Education in the other place. Access to a healthy breakfast is one of the most important things for our kids so that they can start the school day right. Eating a balanced diet has been shown to lower the risk of disease, increase energy levels and contribute to better overall quality of life as well as to improve focus and motivation in the classroom. For lots of reasons not every family can send their kids to school with a healthy breakfast, and that is why the government’s school breakfast program is so important. So often I go to a local primary school and hear about the importance of this program from principals who are doing incredible work every day to nurture the next generation of Victorians. In Lakes Entrance I heard from principal Simon Prior that school breakfasts are an important part of how they support kids in the community. Simon runs a school that is doing terrific work with the local community and achieving across the board, with exciting developments underway with a new kinder on the school site and an over $6 million upgrade committed at the last election. Minister, how is the school breakfast program ensuring that government schools and students in Eastern Victoria are best supported to learn every day of the year?