Tuesday, 3 March 2026

 Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (21:18): (2363) The action I seek from the Minister for Children is to work directly with the Nyora community, local stakeholders and early childhood providers to progress the establishment of an early childhood education centre in the wonderful town of Nyora. This is to address the barriers that are currently preventing local families from accessing kindergarten in their own community. Across Gippsland we have early learning and childcare deserts – right across my region. Many towns lack that access, and Nyora is one such community that sits outside the established kindergarten network. Presently families must transport their young people, their children, to neighbouring towns to attend early childhood programs. Not only is it inconvenient, it ends up being a structural barrier. Sometimes, once families take their children to other towns, the children may end up going to school in other primary schools as well.

A kindergarten in Nyora would deliver significant benefits. It would improve equity and access, it would strengthen local kindergarten-to-school transitions and it would help Nyora Primary School’s long-term sustainability. My colleague the member for Gippsland South Danny O’Brien is actively engaged with this community, and I commend him for his ongoing work. Nyora Primary School is also well placed as a co-located kindergarten area. It would sit perfectly beside that school. The Nyora Community Development Group is actively supporting this proposal and is open to flexible partnership models. These could include collaborating with approved early childhood providers, staged or modular development options, or philanthropic or community supported approaches as required. The community are motivated, they are solutions focused and they are ready to work with government, and I ask the government to work with them. Nyora is a wonderful town. It is situated a bit over an hour out of Melbourne. It is both in the country, in South Gippsland, but also in a wonderful region close to the city. I call on the minister to work with the Nyora community, the school, the local government and the early years providers to explore a pathway to a kindergarten in Nyora.