Page 3780 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 22 November 2006
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I would be very concerned, as would, I think, many in the community, if, as a result perhaps of these closures, in coming years the level of preschool participation in the ACT declined.
It is proposed to close 22 schools. That is unlikely to deter the two-car family from sending a child to preschool, but for some of the more disadvantaged members of our community, the walking distance to their local preschool is very important. Some do not have access to a motor vehicle. In the case of one-income families, there may be one car. This may have a serious effect on people, including some of our most disadvantaged. In fact, it is perhaps more important that the children of the disadvantaged have some sort of preschool education. We do not want to see the poor missing out on preschool education, potentially suffering as a result during their primary school and high school years.
Mrs Dunne’s motion states:
That this Assembly:
(1) notes the contribution made by ACT preschools to early childhood education;
(2) recognises that pre-school education in the ACT has always been provided by a unique and historic collaboration between government and individual parent associations …
I am a young father with kids going though the preschool system. When you see your kids at preschool, you realise how much the individual parents and the parent groups that are associated with preschools contribute to the overall outcomes. This is not just about government funding or government ownership of preschools. We very much see a collaborative approach with preschools. Parents are asked to pay voluntary contributions, and most people are very happy to pay them. We know that if we were not to pay them, many of the facilities would not be there. Many of the new books that are needed and things like replacement carpets, shadecloths and learning materials simply would not be there.
This is not just about a government decision that impacts upon residents. This is about a collaborative approach where parents, teachers and others are contributing and the government is now coming along and saying, “Our budget is in quite a state, so we are going to close 22 preschools.” The decision has significant ramifications. It has the potential to hurt most those who are already disadvantaged and for whom getting to preschool may already be somewhat of a challenge. The proposed closures will make that more difficult.
I have spoken previously about the betrayal by this government of the ACT community who voted for them. That is no more evident than in the preschool sector. Twenty-two preschools are to close. When I look back at the Stanhope Labor government’s education policy dated 24 September 2004, which they took to the last election, and I turn to the part that deals with preschools, they talk about what they have done and they say that with an extra $900,000 they have kept preschools with low enrolments open for families to access when the Liberals would have closed them down.
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