Page 1453 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
at other childcare centres, such as Black Mountain, Campbell Cottage and Cooinda Cottage childcare at Charnwood. This work will assist the centres in their transition to the new national quality framework to provide better quality services and extra childcare places for Canberra families.
There is also the $4 million spent by the government to refurbish the former Flynn primary school to establish the Flynn early childhood education centre. I am pleased to say that since it has opened its doors in January the 115-place childcare centre has been very successful. I would invite Mrs Dunne or anyone from the Canberra Liberals to actually visit that centre and see the delight on the staff and children’s faces as they go about their day in that centre.
Sites have also been released in McKellar and Giralang for childcare use. The sites were sold through an open and competitive process, with the purchasers being a community organisation and a private company. Other sites in Macarthur, Gungahlin and Holt will also shortly be released through a similar process, again allowing private and non-profit providers the opportunity to bid for the land.
The site in Holt is located next to the west Belconnen child and family centre, which provides an opportunity to develop close linkages between the two facilities. This is in addition to land in Fyshwick and Conder which I understand will be developed for childcare centres. The land was sold to private developers by the LDA through a competitive process.
As part of the $60 million package which I announced in April last year, I identified that the government will be constructing two childcare centres, one as part of the Franklin early childhood school and the other in Holder. The site at the Franklin early childhood school will continue the practice of leasing spaces in some education and care premises which are utilised by both private and community-managed providers, which encourages diversity of services in the region.
The site in Holder was identified following a review into childcare places in Weston Creek. The study took into account the existing projected number of children in the birth to four years group in the area and the demand for long-day care and parents’ preferences for home-based or work-based childcare.
In addition to meeting unmet need in Weston Creek, the site is also conveniently located close to Molonglo and will be able to meet the childcare needs of families that start to move into the new suburbs of Coombs and Wright. Clearly, as the population of the Molonglo valley grows, we will see an increasing need for services there, but in the beginning the Holder childcare centre will play an important role.
The childcare centre has been designed to accommodate 125 places. A development application has been lodged and is being assessed by the Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate. The government will undertake a procurement process for the provider for the Holder childcare site over the coming months and the procurement will be open to interested community providers. The ACT government has acted strongly to increase the availability and the affordability of childcare places across the ACT, a commitment that is costed, that is comprehensive. The development of the Holder childcare centre continues on that commitment.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video