Tuesday, 28 July 2026

 Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (19:10): (2630) My adjournment is for the Minister for Local Government. This state Labor government talks big – that it provides free three-year-old kinder. The thing is that is what it says, but we all know it is actually not free. We know Victorians are paying for it, and the money is not going to properly supporting some of the programs or the Victorian families that are paying for it. The action I seek is for the minister to revise the CRES funding model to better reflect the workload required to support kindergarten participation in the City of Casey, which is one of Victoria’s largest, fastest growing and most culturally diverse municipalities. The central registration and enrolment scheme, or CRES, exists to assist families to register to participate in kinder. Currently its funding model does not adequately cover the costs of this work, particularly in the City of Casey. This government prides itself on the Best Start, Best Life reforms, with its focus on improving kindergarten participation, yet it is leaving councils to do the heavy lifting required to get kids into kinder, without providing the funding to match. Over the past three years the Casey CRES has managed an average of more than 6500 registrations each year and has placed more than 5000 children annually. The question has to be asked: what happened to the approximately 1500 kids who did not get placed? I was told initially that there were more than 400 students that missed out on places. I have also been told that several City of Casey families are worried about woke indoctrination that does not reflect their family or personal values which is continually creeping into our kindergartens.

The CRES program in the City of Casey told coalition MPs in a recent meeting that it goes far beyond registering children for kindergarten and explained it participates in intensive family engagement, outreach, registration support, manual offer processes, transfers, cancellations and sustained family follow-up. The City of Casey even undertake offer rounds throughout the year, not just during the main registration period, and they support the many families who move into the municipality throughout the year, families whose circumstances change and families who require additional time and support to complete enrolment due to language or literacy challenges. Without this support, vulnerable children face a higher risk of delayed or even non-participation in kindergarten, as has been the experience of hundreds of families in the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, yet this government turns a blind eye. Its funding model looks at one thing: the number of children placed in kindergartens. It spends taxpayer money on a bag of goodies to bribe Victorians which many families are not going to use. Labor is prepared to bribe its constituents and deceive them into thinking it is spending our money with thought, with its bag of lollies in this government kinder pack, which is for vulnerable children. Shame on you. This Labor government needs to use its money fairly and update its funding model to one that recognises (1) the total registrations managed and not just those converted, (2) the intensity of engagement and (3) the additional resourcing needed to support vulnerable families.