ERNABELLA CHILDREN AND FAMILY CENTRE

Ms BETTISON (Ramsay) (15:08): My question is to the Minister for Education and Child Development. Can the minister inform the house about how Aboriginal children and families benefit from the new children and family centre at Ernabella on the APY lands?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Education and Child Development) (15:09): I would like to thank the member for this important question. I was very pleased to visit the APY lands recently to attend a meeting of the Pitjantjatjara Yunkunytjatjara Education Committee, and of course to visit a number of schools, and to meet with communities and families on the lands. For the house's information, the PYEC consists of community representatives who feel very strongly and very passionately about improving the educational and health outcomes for children and young people on the lands.

The meeting was a very productive one and gave all those involved in relation to education on the lands, including principals, an opportunity to meet with PYEC representatives from each of the major APY communities on the lands, as well as Oak Valley. At this moment, in particular, I acknowledge the chair of the PYEC, Makinti Minutjukur.

My visit to the Ernabella Anangu school was also extremely rewarding and gave me an opportunity to talk to students, staff and parents, and while I was there I had the opportunity to open the newly expanded Ernabella Children and Family Centre, which is located at the school. This new centre is making fantastic practical connections between health, education and family support services in order to support children and families, especially in those very early years.

Of course, this approach is in keeping with our development of a network of children's centres right across our state. The children's centres provide a location for integrated service delivery, and we know that this is a very effective way of engaging with families early. We want to ensure that all families and children in these remote communities do not miss out on this kind of support. We know that the research tells us that connecting these services is a very effective way to give children the best start in life.

I was very pleased to see the expansion of this centre and I would like to acknowledge the staff at the centre and thank everybody who participated. I also acknowledge the role of the commonwealth. This centre has been made possible through a partnership with the Australian government worth more than $25 million and the commitment will see three new Aboriginal children and family centres operating next year at Ceduna, Whyalla and Christies Beach, as well as the expansion at Ernabella.