Last Wednesday, Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell and Shadow Minister for Early Childhood and Youth Angie Bell visited Seymour.
Addressing their shared vision for better Early Childhood Education Centres (ECEC) was on the agenda, including a drop in to social enterprise Gnarly Neighbours.
Despite the latest $4.7 billion ECEC subsidy announcement from the Labor Government, both Mr Birrell and Ms Bell agreed there were no benefits for the residents of Nicholls.
Mr Birrell expressed his concern at the lack of available childcare centres, particularly those that could not take additional enrolments, stating Nicholls was a ‘childcare desert’.
“A lot of us in regional Australia are concerned about childcare deserts,” he said.
“It’s all very well to give subsidies to parents, but if there are no places available it makes it really hard for parents in places like Seymour, Avenel, and Shepparton to get the childcare they need.”
Ms Bell agreed with Mr Birrell’s sentiments, noting that even the ECEC pay rises would not benefit childcare employees in the local community.
“They haven’t delivered one new place in Nicholls with that $4.7 billion in subsidy,” she said.
“They have spent an additional $3.6 billion over the next two years for well-deserved worker pay rises, but again it doesn’t deliver a place for those families in Nicholls who so desperately need it.”
Ms Bell added that additional concerns included the rising costs of childcare and flagged the high number of employment vacancies across the ECEC workforce as problematic.
“The ECEC workforce is a big problem,” she said.
“There are about 19,000 vacancies across the country at the moment, and that number will grow.
“[There is an] increase in out-of-pocket costs for parents.
“Today we have heard that out-of-pocket costs are up by 12.1 per cent in the last 12 months. Families are not better off.”
Ms Bell was impressed, however, to see young people thriving at the Gnarly Neighbours social enterprise.
Gnarly Neighbours is a not-for-profit charity youth group, founded by local man Jayden Sheridan. The desire to create a better environment for his son and local youth was the inspiration behind its formation.
The Crawford Street shopfront boasts an indoor skatepark and learn-to-skate programs. There are also youth programs and creative workshops to foster skills and confidence, and even a customised apparel printing shop where young people can learn about production and graphic design.
Ms Bell said local businesses and the community would benefit from having young people engaged, and that Mr Sheridan’s intervention work was leaving a positive mark on the community.
“It really brightens our soul to be able to speak to a young man like that, because we believe in opportunity for young people and reward for effort,” she said.
“It’s something Sam and I deeply believe in. [Jayden] explained his story to Sam and I, [and] we listened very carefully to his journey.
“He’s now a positive role model in his community. He has drawn a line in the sand for a lot of young men and girls. We see this as an intervention model that really keeps young people on the right road.”
After donning safety gear, Mr Birrell and Ms Bell tried their hand at skateboarding. Mr Birrell said the southern end of his electorate had spirit, and he thanked Ms Bell for coming.
“[There’s] a lot of entrepreneurial spirit here. It’s never had a big injection of government jobs or money,” he said.
“A lot of people are saying ‘Is it worth me going back to work?’. Bringing all that together is why I wanted Angie particularly to have a look at Seymour.”
