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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-05-04 Daily Xml
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Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:31): My question is to the Minister for Education. Can the minister explain the term 'progressive universalism'? Is this concept consistent with the government's election commitment for universal three-year-old preschool? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The interim royal commission report describes its recommended model as 'progressive universalism'. The government's election commitment was for 'universal three-year-old preschool', and the minister has just confirmed that the government's model includes prioritising spaces in public preschools for some families over others.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir: House of Representatives practice says questions may not ask a minister for an expression of opinion. The shadow deputy leader is asking the education minister for an opinion on a question. Sir, he should know better.

The SPEAKER: I will hear the member for Morialta on the point of order

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The leader of the house describing something as a request for an opinion does not make it so. The question was very clearly whether the minister would explain a new term that his government has introduced. Much like Kevin Rudd introduced 'programmatic specificity', this government has a term called 'progressive universalism' and I have asked him to explain it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I am greatly aided by the member for West Torrens' contribution. I observe that it is necessarily a matter of fine judgement as to whether a question invites a minister to express an opinion, which might well be a private opinion, or rather to express a view in relation to a matter of public affairs. I will take the matter under consideration and on a future date make a statement to the house.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER (Wright—Minister for Education, Training and Skills) (14:33): I thank the member for Morialta again for his question. The term to which he refers around progressive universalism is not a term that this government used, although it is enjoyable to be lectured by those opposite about what is progressive and—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Morialta, the minister has the call.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: What the royal commissioner refers to when she uses the term 'progressive universalism' is the rollout of universal three-year-old preschool. Again, I would remind the house that this is an interim report. We have until 19 May to respond.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: We will respond to the royal commission's interim report by 19 May. But if I could entertain the premise of the member for Morialta's question just for a moment, if we were—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta! The Premier is called to order. The minister has the call.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: If we were, for instance, to accept the interim recommendation from the royal commissioner around progressive universalism on a mixed model, then certainly I think that it would meet absolutely the commitment that this party—now government, then opposition—gave before the 2022 state election, which was universal preschool for three year olds.

As the Premier mentioned in his answer to the question from the member for King earlier in this place, the time line that is set in this interim report by the royal commissioner around starting that rollout from 2026, having it completed by 2032 but the large part of that rollout completed by 2029, is actually a very ambitious target.

If we look at what other jurisdictions that have committed to rolling out three-year-old preschool are doing, which includes states like Victoria and New South Wales, then we are talking 10 years. Here, we are talking six but a lot of that provision actually complete within three, so I think we are more than meeting the commitment we gave to the South Australian people, that the Premier, Deputy Premier and I made to the South Australian people, before the last election.

We will look very closely at those interim recommendations from the royal commissioner, and we will respond as a government, as you would expect us to, by 19 May. We then have the second part of the royal commission to follow. I should remind members of this house that, although there has been some excellent coverage, attention and interest in the first part of the royal commission, the second part, too, is extremely important.

It will look at the provision of services for young people in the first 1,000 days of their lives but also look at out-of-school-hours care provision, accessibility and quality across the state. That is important for a number of reasons. As the royal commission clearly finds, people have been choosing to leave the public system not for reasons of quality but for reasons of how they make it fit in the modern working day. If you are a working family or a single parent and you need to go pick up your child from preschool at 3 or 3.15, of course it just does not work.

I am also very much looking forward to what we see in terms of recommendations in the final report because, although the rollout of three-year-old preschool is the key part of the election commitment, we have also made a very important commitment around what we do to ensure that out-of-school-hours care is of a consistently high quality and accessibility for all South Australian families.

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