North East Community Children's Centre

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (15:32): I rise to speak on the petition I tabled in this chamber earlier today initiated by families attending the North East Community Children's Centre, a centre in my electorate of Torrens that is rated as exceeding the national quality standard. The petition, signed by families, staff and supporters, urges the Minister for Education to provide the North East Community Children's Centre with practical road access to allow emergency service vehicles and maintenance vehicles access and to provide a dedicated car park for staff and families.

The centre, which opened 34 years ago, employs 29 staff and caters for 110 families with a waiting list now of up to 12 months. It operates in Hillcrest as a community-run, not-for-profit long day care and early learning centre, and I know that it is highly respected, valued and relied on by many in our community. For 50 weeks of the year, the staff provide care and education, between the hours of 6.30am and 6.15pm, and universal access preschool for 40 weeks of the year. Fifty per cent of the families are from non-English-speaking backgrounds.

The government board members and the centre's director had been proactive in contacting the Department for Education over the past three years and working towards a positive outcome. However, this has been an ongoing challenge that has resulted in no movement in the government's original subdivision plan, leaving the centre in a difficult position.

A letter to the minister from the North East Community Children's Centre governance board is yet to receive a response. Numerous phone calls and emails to the department and a visit from a department representative have all failed to adequately address the concerns. The centre, growing in numbers, is desperately in need of a car park to adequately accommodate the needs of families and educators at the centre.

Of concern also, should the department continue with its current subdivision plan and not allocate a relatively small portion of the land for access to the western side of the centre, is the inability of emergency service vehicles, ambulance and fire brigade, to access the site in the case of an emergency. Each day, there are 70 children at the centre, and the minister cannot and should not ignore this fact.

At this very moment, there is a unique opportunity for the government to listen to the voices of the community and consider amendments to their current subdivision plans for the former Gilles Plains Avenues College primary school site to provide adequate emergency services access and additional car parking for the centre. I urge the minister to visit on site and see for himself the small difference this would make to their current subdivision plans that would in turn make a world of difference to the North East Community Children's Centre.

I know that there has been a proposal for the NECC to share the NECAP car park which faces North East Road; however, this option will not adequately address the issue. The department proposed that if this option were to be accepted, it would mean that the care and control of the car park would fall within the centre's responsibility, including maintenance costs of the car park, which is currently in very poor condition, as well as maintenance of the trees. Improving the site access to make it safe for families and children to walk through and emergency vehicles to access was not a consideration.

To say that the governing board and families are disappointed in the way in which the department has handled this situation would be an understatement. It is clear that, despite the department saying they will take the centre's concerns into consideration, there is no evidence of this having occurred. The director of the centre has told me that this will also impact on their plans to build a fourth room to accommodate the waiting list for the many families wishing to enrol. Similar issues are expressed from local schools with their enrolment numbers significantly impacted.

Today, I would like to acknowledge North East Community Children's Centre director, Cindy Chapman; governing board member and treasurer, Maggie; governing board member, Belinda; and educational leader, Gina—all great advocates of the centre here in the chamber. I call on the minister to look at all the evidence provided and support the community children's centre's request for a relatively small portion of the land to be allocated for their use in the best interest of the children and the families who rely on its services.