Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (12:42): (2642) My question is to the Minister for Children. How are the children of Southern Metropolitan Region benefiting from Labor’s investment in free kinder? Labor is transforming early learning through our $14 billion Best Start, Best Life reforms, which are delivering bigger, better and fairer kinder for children across Victoria. A key aspect of free kinder is getting two years of high-quality early learning. It was great to see how some of the nearly 50,000 kids in the Southern Metropolitan Region have benefited from free kinder at Fawkner Park Children’s Centre. Last week I visited with the minister and Labor’s candidate for Prahran Meghan Hopper. Across Victoria more than 500,000 children have received the benefits of free kinder. But it is not just kids benefiting educationally; families benefit financially, saving up to $5400 per child across two years. It helps parents get back to work or study if they wish to. Labor is investing in the early years, where it matters most.