Gabrielle Duykers, Naracoorte Community News
Kingston has been promised a new $1.8 million childcare centre under a re-elected Morrison government, just months after the local council was denied funding to establish the facility.
Childcare shortages in the small coastal town have been an issue for more than 30 years.
The Kingston Kindergarten and Rural Care service, offered through Kingston Early Learning Centre, is the only childcare service available in Kingston and currently has more than 50 children on its waitlist.
The early learning centre began actively working to address the lack of services in 2017, before combining forces with other community members and Kingston District Council to form the Kingston SE Early Learning and Childcare Services Working Group (KELCS) in 2019.
KELCS chair Kirsty Starling said the long-awaited childcare centre would be welcomed by local residents.
“A new early learning centre will be pivotal for families and children in the Kingston area,” Ms Starling said.
“It will allow for improved learning opportunities for young children, enable parents to return to the workforce and support our local businesses.”
Ms Starling said the group was “ecstatic” at the funding announcement.
“We have been advocating for equal access to early learning opportunities for over five years and this funding will be game-changing for our community,” she said.
“Others living in rural areas will understand how essential services, such as access to childcare, are not always readily available but are so important for our communities to thrive.”
The Rural Care service which runs the Kingston childcare is managed by the Department of Education.
The service is designed to integrate childcare services within government kindergarten facilities in communities with limited access to childcare.
However, these programs are supposed to be delivered for a limited period, with the expectation that population growth would eventually result in the development of a community or commercial childcare facility as demand increases.
In February this year, the Federal Government rejected a grant application from Kingston District Council to develop an 80-place early learning and childcare facility.
The $1.6 million bid was made through the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery program, an initiative Kingston was eligible for following the 2019 Keilira bushfire that burned through more than 25,000 hectares and claimed about 3000 livestock.
Council mayor Kay Rasheed described the grant rejection as “bitterly disappointing” at the time.
“Keilira fire was massive with a huge amount of damage done which affected the entire community,” Ms Rasheed said. “Once again it feels like we are not thought of as a fire-affected area.”
Council sent a letter to Federal Minister for National Recovery and Resilience and Regional Education Bridget McKenzie, seeking reasoning behind why the application was rejected.
Federal Member for Barker Tony Pasin also spoke to the Prime Minister’s Officer regarding the need for the project, which he vowed to “continue fighting for”.
After regularly engaging with the KELCS group and advocating to colleagues in Federal Parliament, Mr Pasin said it was fantastic to finally deliver the funding commitment to the community.
“I understand that this has been a long journey and a lot of hard work for the working group,” he said.
“I commend their dedication and it’s been an absolute pleasure to work with such a proactive community to address this issue.”
In a 2021 council survey of 90 Kingston locals, 61 per cent of respondents said the current Kingston childcare service had failed to meet their needs due to the extent of the waiting list. More than 86 per cent also said the lack of care had impacted their ability to take up work or study.
The survey found this to be having detrimental flow-one effects, with local businesses reporting ongoing struggles to find enough employees to maintain operations, let alone consider potential expansions.
Mr Pasin said access to adequate childcare services would address these issues and help boost the local economy.
“Not only is early childhood education beneficial for children but it allows both parents the ability to re-enter the workforce,” he said.
“Increasing the childcare offering in Kingston SE will give the opportunity to increase household incomes, easing cost of living pressures and it will open the door for local businesses to a new pool of employees.”
This article appeared in the Naracoorte Community News.
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