WHO’S FOOTING THE BILL?
Member for Western Victoria Region, Bev McArthur used a constituency question in Parliament to ask the Minister for Education about recurrent state government funding for the facility maintenance of three-year-old kindergarten.
While the Labor Government has committed to providing funding for three-year-old kindergarten, it is unclear as to whether they will also bear the cost of operating and maintaining the facilities across Victoria but especially in regional and rural areas.
Bev McArthur said “It is well and good that the state government is providing funding for three-year-old kindergarten and some capital grants for buildings and facilities, but the question remains: is the government going to provide the recurrent expenditure needed to operate and maintain these facilities on an ongoing basis?”
“Rural municipalities like Buloke in Western Victoria Region already suffer from cost shifting by the state government. Unlike metropolitan councils, they do not have parking fees, fines, housing density rate revenue and large numbers of pet registrations to offset their ever-increasing expenses.”
Mrs McArthur asked the Education Minister, “Will ratepayers have to foot the bill for power, waste and ongoing maintenance of these premises, or will the government meet the total cost of three-year-old kindergarten and not just the ribbon-cutting component?”
21 November 2019