By Charlene Macaulay
Wyndham families could be up to $2000 worse off if the federal government does not commit to its share of recurrent funding for four-year-old kindergarten.
That’s the word from Wyndham council, which is ramping up its I Love Kinder campaign in a bid to pile on the pressure on the federal government to secure ongoing funding in the lead-up to the budget, which will be handed down on April 2.
Currently, the federal government has committed to funding five hours of kindergarten a week for every four-year-old until the end of 2019, with the state government funding the remaining 10 hours.
In recent years, the federal government has extended the funding on a year-by-year basis, leaving families and kindergarten providers in limbo.
Wyndham mayor Mia Shaw said the government needed to commit to recurrent kindergarten funding to provide certainty for Wyndham families.
“It shouldn’t be used as a political promise or something to be used to get votes,” Cr Shaw said.
“We know the benefits of kids going to kinder, and yet we seem to have this conversation every year.
“In Wyndham alone, we have more than 3100 kids currently enrolled in kinder. If the federal government does not fund their education on an ongoing basis then their families could be stuck paying an extra $2000 out of their own pockets just to fill the gaps.”
Lalor MP Joanne Ryan said that if elected at the federal election, the Labor Party would provide ongoing funding for four-year-old kindergarten and 15 hours of subsidised kindergarten a week for three-year-olds.
“By failing to secure funding for four-year-old kinder beyond the end of this year, Scott Morrison is leaving 5348 pre-schoolers in Lalor in the dark,” Ms Ryan said.
The federal education department did not respond to Star Weekly’s questions by deadline.
