Tuesday, 3 March 2026

 Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:35): I rise to update the house on the historic agreement the Allan Labor government has reached with the Albanese government for early childhood education infrastructure. The agreement provides $170 million in joint funding, providing for 11 early learning centres across Victoria’s outer suburbs and in the regions in areas where they are needed most. Just the other week I was pleased to attend our Early Learning Victoria Garrong site in Kings Park, joined by the Commonwealth Minister for Education Jason Clare and the minister for early childhood Jess Walsh, to celebrate this historic agreement. The Australian government is investing $63 million across a range of projects through the $1 billion Building Early Education Fund. The Allan Labor government is contributing $107 million. This investment will support the building or expansion of early childhood education and care services across Victoria, including in Kings Park, Wedderburn, Weir Views, Geelong, Whittlesea, Casey, Frankston and Swan Hill. We are making this investment because we know how important it is to support the delivery of early childhood services in areas of greatest need, improving the education of some of our youngest learners. Services will be delivered progressively over the coming years, with new Early Learning Victoria services in Kings Park, Wedderburn and Weir Views recently opened. Two services will come online in 2027, four services in 28 and a further two in 29.

This further investment is aligned with the Allan Labor government’s nation-leading $14 billion Best Start, Best Life reforms. As we know, our Best Start, Best Life reforms are transforming early childhood education to help children thrive, save families money and support parents and carers to return to work or study if they choose. It is also building and expanding hundreds of kindergartens across Victoria, providing 50 Early Learning Victoria centres and supporting the delivery of 15 hours of three-year-old kindergarten each week by 2029 and up to 30 hours of pre-prep each week by 2036.