Thursday, 19 October 2023

 Kim WELLS (Rowville) (14:43): (374) My question is to the Premier. When will the Premier and her government actually provide free kinder to the residents in the Rowville electorate instead of local ratepayers being expected to subsidise this cost? Under Labor the government has only provided $2500 per child, not even coming close to accommodating the cost of providing free child care, which has resulted in 1100 kids left in the lurch without free kinder. At the last election Labor committed that it would provide free kinder to those as young as four, yet now parents are contacting my office, unable to get a spot for their kids at any age. Labor’s free kinder program has made it harder for kids to get into kinder, not easier, and the burden is definitely being felt by parents in the electorate of Rowville.