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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-02-16 Daily Xml
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CHILDREN'S SERVICES

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (15:03): My question is for the Minister for Education and Child Development. Minister, can you advise the house how South Australia is performing in relation to the delivery of education and childcare services for families with young children?

Honourable members: All will be revealed!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Education and Child Development) (15:03): All will be revealed very soon—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —as I have been maintaining publicly.

Mr PISONI: Point of order! I asked a question and was refused the answer. A government question comes across and there is a written answer for the government member.

The SPEAKER: I'm not sure what your point of order is but sit down, member for Unley. I think you need to be here a bit longer to find out these things. Minister.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: I would like to thank the member for Ashford for this question. It was only last night that I met parents and staff at a local kindy to talk about this very matter. There is no question that South Australia is a recognised national leader when it comes to the provision of early years childhood services.

The latest report on government services shows that South Australia is indeed a strong performer in this area. Our spending on children's services, such as childcare and preschool, was substantially higher than the national average. We spend $499 for each child on children's services compared to the national average of $291.

Fees charged by childcare service providers in SA were the lowest in the nation in both family and long day care. We are the only state in which all family day care schemes undergoing accreditation met all the criteria. In partnership with the federal government, we are working to lift the quality of childcare services, the staff-to-child ratios and the qualifications of staff. I will take this opportunity to acknowledge all of those hard-working people that work in these centres.

We also lead the way, as I mentioned earlier, in relation to our outstanding network of children's centres that are bringing a series of services together in the one site. As the Premier has outlined—as we all have outlined—there is no question that we as a government are absolutely committed to every child having every chance.

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