Thursday, 19 June 2025

 Anasina GRAY-BARBERIO (Northern Metropolitan) (17:47): (1743) My adjournment matter this evening is to the Minister for Children, and the action I seek is for the minister to join me in visiting the Pacific Island Playgroup in Broadmeadows, the only community-led, volunteer-driven playgroup servicing the northern suburbs of northern metro Melbourne, where a significant Pacific Islander diaspora resides. Community playgroups are the unsung heroes of child development. They spark curiosity, foster social and cultural connections and provide vital pathways for families to support their children’s growth. These groups help shape young minds whilst connecting them to their multiethnic identities through language, song, dance, play and food. Much like grandparents provide love, guidance and a sense of belonging in a child’s early life, community playgroups offer nurturing and safe environments for children and their caregivers. They play a vital role in supporting children’s development and easing the transition into three- and four-year-old kindergarten.

Minister, you have invested a record $14 billion into the Best Start, Best Life initiative, but investment into community playgroups continues to lag behind despite its proven value to families and children. The Pacific Island Playgroup has access to a qualified Pasifika early childhood educator but does not have the funds to remunerate them during school term for 3 hours a week. Like many community playgroups, they must self-fund programs and excursions, constraints that often lead to lost opportunities. There are currently no targeted and explicit funding opportunities tailored to specifically help community playgroups like this one to flourish and grow, yet demand is growing. What began with four children under the age of three now sees up to 15 children attending on any given Monday. While rooted in Pacific Island culture, this playgroup proudly welcomes non-Pasifika families who have adopted Pacific Island children, offering a meaningful way to maintain deep and authentic connections to their cultural heritage in a respectful community-led setting. Peak bodies like Playgroup Victoria do their best to uplift and resource these groups, but they too lack funding opportunities that community playgroups can apply for.

Families from diverse backgrounds need spaces where cultural capital can thrive. They deserve a space where they can access maternal health nurses and learn about their local support services that is culturally sensitive. This community playgroup has allowed so many mums to understand the process to enrol their children in three- and four-year-old kinder. It gives parents confidence in navigating the enrolment process, something they may not have done otherwise and may have completely missed out on. Minister, I look forward to introducing you to the special mums and families of the Pacific Island Playgroup in Broadmeadows and find ways you can support their work.