Page 2014 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 5 August 2014
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We continue to invest in these scholarships. Indeed, we broadened out those scholarships just recently to ensure that university-qualified teachers are also supported. This degree scholarships program was launched last week; the first scholarships will be awarded in mid-September. This will allow, in the first round, 25 early educators to be supported, to the tune of $1,500 per year over the four years of their degree, to achieve their early childhood degree. We recognise that it is important to support the workforce. Our investment is not only in bricks and mortar and ensuring that we have a great regulating unit; we know that the workforce is an important part of this.
We have developed a workforce strategy in partnership with what was the ACT children’s educators forum; they have recently changed their name to Children’s Educators ACT. I work very closely with that group.
The ACT government recognises the critical importance of quality early education and is committed to ensuring that all children have access to high-quality preschool programs and services. Over the last five years, the ACT has enhanced and developed our systems of service delivery and early childhood education under the national partnership for universal access to early childhood education. This has included increasing the hours of access to preschool education in government preschools from 12 to 15 hours a week for all ACT students in the year before they enter formal schooling. This program has ensured that our families have access to 15 hours of affordable, quality early childhood education.
There is concern, because the Australian government are funding through to the ACT, that that agreement ceases in December of this year. We are four months away from a national partnership coming to an end—a partnership that guarantees 15 hours of universal access to preschool for Canberra families. The question mark over that funding belongs to the Australian government. Tony Abbott or the relevant ministers are yet to confirm what they will do with that national partnership. Canberra families right now face losing access—universal access—to 15 hours of preschool. To date, there has been no comment from the Prime Minister, Minister Pyne or Assistant Minister Ley about the future of that program.
If your focus is on access to affordable early education, I would have thought that there would be a strong interest from those over there in those hours—15 hours—of universal free access to preschool and government schools. I would have thought they would have been an important matter for your consideration. Mrs Jones asked me in estimates to raise this, and I will keep on raising it with the relevant federal ministers as we come closer to the end of this year. We will not be able to sustain that extra load; it will cost us many millions of dollars. The federal government, and I think the Productivity Commission, acknowledge the benefit of those universal access hours, ensuring 15 hours for those very important years. I think it behoves all of us in this place to make sure that the federal government continues to support that.
I am very pleased to see Mrs Jones agree with that sentiment. When I fight the good fight for Canberra families, hopefully, I will be able to say that the Canberra Liberals may just once agree with me on this and support universal access for our Canberra families to the tune of 15 hours with funding from the federal government.
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