Notice of Motion – raised by Cr Virginia Tachos – Ongoing funding for Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation
Quotes to be attributed to Brimbank Mayor Cr Bruce Lancashire:
“Reducing gambling harm is a priority for Council as Brimbank is heavily impacted by gambling harm and unfortunately we have the highest daily losses of any Victorian local government area for the past decade.
“While we welcome the long awaited gambling reforms that were recently announced, we are concerned that the Victorian Government has not confirmed it will continue funding the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation beyond the 2023-24 financial year.
“The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation provides a vital service that counters and supports the great harms done by gambling in Victoria and in particular the City of Brimbank.
“Council will call on the Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation the Hon. Melissa Horne MP requesting that funding remains ongoing for the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation”.
Quotes to be attributed to Cr Virginia Tachos:
“The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation is the one statutory body that was created by the Victorian Parliament to support people and provide programs for those affected by gambling and gambling harm, yet its ongoing funding is now up in the air.
“Programs like ‘Libraries after Dark’ and ‘Gambler’s Help’ could now be under threat, and to not give this statutory body the security of funding, is again throwing the light on how much longer this harm can go on.
“Brimbank Council will continue the fight to advocate for stronger regulation of the gambling industry.”
Background
The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (VRGF) is an authority responsible for preventing and reducing gambling harm for all Victorians, by funding treatment services, education and research.
Council has received funding from the VRGF for various initiatives, including most recently the Invest in You too Program, Libraries after Dark and the Young Leaders of the West Gambling Harm Mural project.
Without reform measures to address gambling harm, these initiatives are critical to combatting gambling harm in Brimbank, given the disproportionate degree of gambling harm in the communityThere is risk that a lack of sustained funding for the VRGF will further exacerbate the consequences of EGM losses in the Brimbank community.
Ongoing funding is critical to ensure that the Brimbank and the greater Victorian community is supported and that that VRGF can implement all of the Victorian Auditor General’s Office (VAGO) recommendations and meet its core purpose in preventing and reducing gambling harm.
Notice of Motion – raised by Cr Virginia Tachos – Review of Kindergarten Central Registration and Enrolment Policy
Quotes to be attributed to Brimbank Mayor Cr Bruce Lancashire:
“We have great kindergarten facilities in Brimbank, which are experiencing high demand for early childhood education.
“It’s important we support parents and families with the kindergarten services they need to give children the best start in life.
“This timely review will consider many factors in establishing a fair and equitable kindergarten enrolment system for all families living in Brimbank. We’ll be giving families an opportunity to have their say on enrolments and ensuring more kids get the most out of early education.”
Quotes to be attributed to Cr Virginia Tachos:
“We need to review our current policies and criteria around kindergarten enrolments, and look at alleviating the huge demand for kinder places across Brimbank.
“This is a real opportunity to develop a best practice kinder allocation system, which considers childhood disadvantage, local traffic and environmental factors, as well as consider adding criteria around a family’s proximity to their preferred kindergarten.”
Background
The recent introduction of Three-Year-Old and Free Kindergarten has resulted in increased demand in sessional kindergartens across Brimbank.
For example, Keilor Village, Keilor Gatehouse, Remus Way in Taylors Lakes and YMCA in Derrimut are centres where there are challenges in meeting demand.
There are challenges in accommodating all first preferences for kindergarten centres. A number of families that have not received their first preference are concerned their child will not be able to attend the kindergarten closest to their home.
Brimbank Council has worked with the Department of Education and Kindergarten providers to increase the number of 3 year-old places in Brimbank and increase the hours of these programs.
Regardless of planning there are still a number of kindergartens in Brimbank with a demand larger than the supply. Each year we work with families to get them a place at kindergarten, even if it is not the kindergarten that they wanted most.
Council is guided by the Department of Education Central Registration and Enrolment Scheme (CRES) – Development Guide 2020 for the development of our 2022 Kindergarten Registration Policy.
The Department of Education guide allows for local criteria to be added, for example zonal systems.
Brimbank’s Policy prioritises residents of Brimbank over those families in other LGAs. However, Brimbank does not zone kindergarten access or provide priority based on proximity to the kindergarten.
Council will undertake a review of the current Kindergarten Central Registration and Enrolment Policy that will include:
- Consultation with families across Brimbank
- Benchmarking with other municipalities
- Alignment with relevant adopted policy positions – this will enable consideration to be given to other factors raised including childhood obesity, traffic and environmental considerations.
Any changes made to the policy would come into effect for enrolments for the 2025 kindergarten year as allocations for 2024 are already underway and nearing completion.
Information will become available via www.yoursay.brimbank.vic.gov.au
Notice of Motion – raised by Cr Thuy Dang - Vietnamese Bilingual Kinder Program in Brimbank
Quotes to be attributed to Brimbank Mayor Cr Bruce Lancashire:
“Preschool aged children gain so much by attending kindergarten, and research shows it gives them the best start. A bilingual Vietnamese kindergarten program would make kindergarten more accessible to many families in Brimbank where Vietnamese is their first language.
“It will also be of benefit to families who do not speak Vietnamese with research showing that learning a language other than English at a young age has many benefits.
“While Brimbank Council does not directly provide kindergarten services, Council sees great value in working in partnership with kindergartens to provide them with information about this wonderful opportunity.”
Quotes to be attributed to Cr Thuy Dang:
“Brimbank has a strong and proud Vietnamese community, and I’m sure that having a Vietnamese bilingual kindergarten program on their doorstep would be welcomed.
“Council encourages our local kindergartens to consider if this program could be suitable for the pre-schoolers they teach. We’d love to work with them to help them submit an expression of interest to the Department of Education and hopefully offer this innovative program to families in Brimbank.”
Background
St Albans has the highest concentration of Vietnamese speakers in Victoria. In May 2023 there were 362 families registered for kindergarten where the primary carer was born in Vietnam. Of these families 112 lived in St Albans.
Meanwhile, pre-school aged children in St Albans attend kindergarten at lower rates than other areas.
The 2023 Victorian Budget includes funding for 10 new bilingual kindergartens over five years. This could represent a great opportunity for suitable kindergartens in St Albans to include a Vietnamese bilingual kinder program.
Having a program like this in St Albans could help increase the number of children in St Albans where the primary carer was born in Vietnam from attending kindergarten.
While Brimbank Council does not directly provide kindergarten services, it could work in partnership with Early Years Managers to provide them with information about the opportunity to provide bilingual program and link them to the appropriate channels to register its interest to run one of these programs.
Notice of Motion – raised by Cr Thomas O’Reilly – School provision planning in Derrimut
Quotes to be attributed to Brimbank Mayor Cr Bruce Lancashire:
“There are no government secondary schools in Derrimut. The closest government secondary schools are too far away with limited public transport options.
“Council has committed to write to the Victorian Department of Education with a copy sent to the Minister for Education Natalie Hutchins MP, the Victorian Principals Association and Luba Grigorovitch MP, requesting an update on future planning for secondary school education provision in Derrimut.”
Quotes to be attributed to Cr Thomas O’Reilly
“Secondary students in Derrimut cannot easily walk or ride to school and face far longer travel times than students living elsewhere in Brimbank. Residents of Derrimut should have equitable ease of access to public secondary education now and into the future.”
Background
Families in Derrimut make choices about secondary schools based on a range of factors including, distance, quality of infrastructure such as school buildings and facilities, zoning, cost, and, travel time and convenience. With no government secondary schools in Derrimut, families do not have options available to most other Victorians.
The Department of Education and Training and the Victorian School Building Authority previously has indicated that there wasn’t sufficient population to build a school in Derrimut and the catchment had capacity to meet future demand. Given population growth and other changes in Derrimut and surrounding areas, Council is requesting an update on future planning for secondary school education provision in Derrimut.
Notice of Motion – raised by Cr Maria Kerr – Public meetings
Quotes to be attributed to Brimbank Mayor Cr Bruce Lancashire:
“Council is committed to engaging with our community, and is always looking for more ways to engage effectively and transparently.
“At the July Council Meeting, Council asked to receive a report detailing how a regular Public Forum meeting could be introduced at Brimbank City Council for community members to make representation and ask live and unscripted questions of the Mayor or any Councillor. I look forward to Council officers reporting back to Council on this matter.”
Quotes to be attributed to Cr Maria Kerr:
“Community members have told me that they want an opportunity to address Council directly, and not via scripted questions & answers as part of the public question process at the Council Meeting. Such a meeting would offer the community an opportunity to engage with their Councillors in a less formal setting.”
Background
Brimbank City Council is committed to engaging with the community, and does this through many different forums.
Some of these forums are listening posts where the public meets their Councillors, attendance at Council events, the new Brimbank Community Voice engagement panel, at Council meetings through the ability to pose a public question or submit a petition and the online ‘your say’ page for feedback on specific issues.
Brimbank City Council is also committed to Public Transparency as outlined in its Public Transparency Policy as required by the Local Government Act 2020.