CONSTITUENCY QUESTION — Ms Spence to ask the Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing for the Minister for Families and Children —

My question is for the Minister for Families and Children, who is also Minister for Youth Affairs. What assistance may be available to assist Hume City Council to provide the preschool infrastructure that will be required in 2018 to ensure that adequate kindergarten places are available for children in Yuroke? The Yuroke electorate is experiencing rapid growth, with the Craigieburn community being the third‑fastest growing suburb in the country. With that growth comes a need for appropriate infrastructure, including preschools for the many new young families that we welcome each week. This places a burden on the local council that is responsible for the provision of this infrastructure, and I am seeking information as to what options there are for the state government to assist with funding so that local families can access the preschool places they require.

Answer:

Access to high-quality early years services is central to giving every Victorian child the best start in life. The Andrews Labor Government is committed to working with local councils and other early childhood service providers to respond to demand within Victoria’s growth corridors.

This is why we are delivering a record $70 million to build, expand and upgrade early childhood facilities across Victoria through the Children’s Facilities Capital Program. This includes a $10 million commitment to address early years demand in identified high growth areas, including the City of Hume.

The most recent completed round of the Children’s Facilities Capital Program has provided financial support for four early learning facility upgrade projects in the Hume local government area, three of which are scheduled to be operational for the start of 2018.

I also recently announced $4.25 million through the Government’s Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution fund to fund relocatable kindergartens in Hume and Wyndham in time to enrol children for 2018. These kindergartens will provide approximately 130 sessional kindergarten places in Hume.

I thank the Member for her longstanding advocacy in her electorate of Yuroke.