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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-11-27 Daily Xml
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Social Development Committee: Inquiry into the Prevalence and Effectiveness of Programs in Preschools and Schools to Ensure Children and Young People Do Not Go Hungry During the Day

Ms THOMPSON (Davenport) (11:37): I move:

That the 51st report of the committee, entitled Inquiry into the Prevalence and Effectiveness of Programs in Preschools and Schools to Ensure Children and Young People Do Not Go Hungry During the Day, be noted.

I do not think anything breaks my heart more than the thought of a child with a hungry belly. Before turning to the substance of our report, I want to sincerely thank all of those who contributed their time, expertise and lived experience for this inquiry. The committee received 29 written submissions and heard from 19 witnesses across six public hearings. Thank you to all of those who provided evidence. The committee expresses particular thanks to the Department for Education, Foodbank SA and NT, and KickStart for Kids, organisations whose partnership in the school breakfast program provides a lifeline to thousands of children in our state every single day.

We also thank Professor Rebecca Golley and Dr Stefania Velardo from Flinders University for their substantial contributions throughout the inquiry. I also acknowledge Helen Connolly, the Children in the North Alliance and the school communities of Swallowcliffe School, Elizabeth Downs Primary School and Fraser Park Primary School, who welcomed committee members on site visits and demonstrated the powerful impact of school-based meal programs.

I thank the committee secretariat, Ms Robyn Schutte and Ms Mary-Ann Bloomfield for their diligent work on preparing the extensive report. Finally, I would like to thank my fellow committee members for their thoughtful, compassionate and genuine bipartisan engagement throughout this inquiry. I thank our Chair, the Hon. Ian Hunter MLC, for his steady leadership and commitment to ensuring that the voices of children, families and educators were heard with respect. I also thank the Hon. Russell Wortley MLC, the Hon. Rob Simms MLC, the Hon. David Pisoni MP and Ms Penny Pratt MP for their constructive contributions, robust discussions and shared dedication to improving the wellbeing of children and young people in South Australia.

This inquiry was referred to the committee by this house on my motion on 20 February this year. It calls for submissions opened in early May, generating considerable interest from educators, health and community organisations, academics, advocacy groups and individuals right across our state. Across the evidence one message was overwhelmingly clear: too many South Australian children and young people are attending preschool and school hungry. Hunger, whether the result of poverty, food insecurity or lack of access to nutritious foods, has a profound impact on a child's learning, development, behaviour and wellbeing.

Earlier this year, the committee tabled its 49th report investigating a human rights act for South Australia. In that inquiry, the committee expanded the rights set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Among the rights of every child is the right to adequate nutritious food. The recommendations of the report before the house today directly support that right. They outline practical reforms, particularly a universal school meals program that would ensure more South Australian children have reliable access to healthy, nourishing meals.

The evidence presented to the committee was clear, confronting and consistent. Food insecurity is rising. More than 53 per cent of South Australians reported financial hardship as a major concern in 2025 and 6.9 per cent of children and young people experienced food insecurity in 2024, which is an increase on the year before. In 2021,17.3. per cent of children in our state were living in poverty—that is around one in six kids here in South Australia—32 per cent of public school students receive School Card support and 26 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households have reported food insecurity.

The link between food insecurity, disadvantage and educational inequity is undeniable. Teachers, principals and service providers told the committee that more children than ever are arriving at school without having eaten breakfast or with no food in their school lunch box that day. Foodbank, KickStart for Kids, OzHarvest and others reported unprecedented increases in demand, including from schools that traditionally have not required food relief. In some of our lowest income communities, KickStart for Kids told us that 2.5 in four children arrive without breakfast or lunch.

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