Page 1740 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 5 May 2010
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carload after carload of people came and talked to me about the thing that was most important to them—what was going on with their shops. They wanted to know whether they were ever going to get shops and whether there was any potential for childcare in Dunlop.
On that morning there would have been perhaps 20 families who came to the site of the shops to talk to me about the fact that they wanted childcare in their suburb and there was no scope for that at the moment—that eventually, when these shops were developed, it would be really great to see other community facilities attached and if there was a childcare centre it would be quite well supported.
Ms Hunter has said that we need to have more research into that, and of course we do, because the government do not know where the demand for childcare is. We do not know where the demand for childcare is. We know that the government have no idea because they do not collect the data. They do not know where people are living who want childcare and where the shortages for childcare are. They have no idea how long the waiting lists are and where the shortages are.
We know this because the opposition has made inquiries under the Freedom of Information Act. Almost two years after it made a commitment to build two new childcare centres, the government is still scratching its head about where they might be. It does not have the data that would help it to make these decisions. Ms Hunter is right, to an extent—we need to drill down into that—but from my experience of standing on street corners in Dunlop talking to people about what they need in Dunlop the number one message is that we need childcare facilities.
It is only anecdotal, but it is about the best information we have. It is better than the information that the ACT government currently has about demand for childcare in Dunlop. By its own admission, when it provided documents to us under the Freedom of Information Act it had no idea. There are no documents. The people of Dunlop, like everyone else, are not being served by this government when it comes to childcare because this government has no idea where the demand is or what the quantum of demand is. It does not have the capacity at the moment to collect the information and it seems uninterested in doing so.
I need to congratulate Mr Coe on bringing forward this important matter today. What he has asked for in his motion is straightforward. It is really that the government account to the Assembly for what is going on or what is proposed to be developed at the Dunlop shops. He is also asking for supplementary information in relation to the possibility of childcare facilities in Dunlop and whether any provider is interested in providing such facilities. The people of Dunlop are missing out. They are missing out, in some ways, much more than people in other suburbs. Like Flynn, they have no community facilities. The lack of community facilities means that there is no community in Dunlop. It is very hard for people who are trying to maintain Neighbourhood Watch, which we will talk about later in the day, simply because there is no place for people to congregate in the suburb.
I congratulate Mr Coe on his motion. I look forward to the government providing useful information to the Assembly and, through the Assembly, to the people of Dunlop about the future of their suburb.
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