Early Learning Strategy

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (15:08): My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer please outline details of the government's Early Learning Strategy and also any responses that the government may have received to that wonderful strategy?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:08): I am sure all members who listened in with great interest to the Treasurer's budget speech on Tuesday, and those who didn't, will note that I said one of—to me, anyway—the most exciting aspects of the government's vision for the future outlined in the budget speech was the early learning strategy to be led by Minister Gardner and the team in the education and children's services department.

This is a $50.1 million commitment. All parents and grandparents with littlies will be familiar with the CaFHS Blue Book, which all new parents get. In that, parents record major milestones, but of course they are developmental checks in the Blue Book. We currently have four developmental checks. The sad reality is that, whilst 90 per cent of parents with their children undertake the first developmental check at the period between one and four weeks, it drops off and drops off markedly for the next two developmental checks, where as few as 18 per cent of children actually have their developmental check. That is a shame. It's something that Minister Gardner and the government have committed to reversing. We have looked at the model in Western Australia.

The new Blue Book, the new strategy, will actually have six developmental checks: new ones at 12 months and three years, together with the one to four week, and the final one at preschool age. Parents, maybe with the assistance of grandparents—says he, the proud grandparent of four littlies—will ensure, hopefully, that a much greater percentage of those children have undertaken for them those particular developmental delay checks.

Then, more importantly, that the interventions and supports are provided, hopefully before they arrive at preschool but also importantly when they arrive at preschool they have either had the developmental delay addressed through the health system or through other supports, or when they arrive at preschool the preschool teacher is in a position to be able to say, 'We have already identified what the developmental delay is; these are the issues; this is the sort of support'—speech pathology, occupational therapy or whatever it is that the preschool child requires at school.

It is an exciting initiative and I was delighted to see that amongst many people who have supported it is someone who would be very familiar to the opposition, former South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill, who said:

We congratulate the South Australian Premier Steven Marshall and his team on this crucial investment in future generations that recognises the importance of the early years on children's future health, happiness, growth and development.

Now we need to see reform across the country. SA can play a leadership role in bringing early learning to the top of the agenda for National Cabinet.

With early learning and child care already on the National Cabinet agenda for July, we look forward to seeing ambitious proposals from state and territory leaders that will ensure early learning is high-quality, affordable and accessible to every child and family across the country.

This proposal has been warmly endorsed by a number of South Australian based stakeholders. Of course, former Premier Weatherill is now the CEO, I think, of the Minderoo Foundation operating out of Western Australia, but they will be familiar with the groundbreaking work that the Western Australian system and governments have done in the past.

We unashamedly have looked at what they have done in Western Australia and we are seeking to replicate and improve on that particular model in terms of the early identification of developmental delay and hopefully trying to provide the intervention and support that will seek to assist those children before they arrive at school and, as I said, if they arrive at preschool at least being aware of what those issues are so that we can endeavour to do something about it.