THE kid gloves are off between Kingston councillors and MPs over visits to kindergartens.
Councillors narrowly voted at the latest public council meeting to force kindergarten committees to tell council when federal or state MPs intend to visit kinders to “strengthen council’s ability to respond if council-owned kindergartens are being used in a manner that is inconsistent with council’s intent in the issuing of leases.”
Councillors who backed the move voiced concerns about council-owned buildings and council logos being used for political purposes.
Those who opposed forcing kindergartens to report to council before MPs visit their premises criticised the introduction of “more red tape” and felt parent volunteer committees had enough voluntary work to do without worrying about the extra notification requirement.
Crs Tamsin Bearsley, Ron Brownlees, Paul Peulich, John Ronke and mayor Geoff Gledhill voted to have any kindergarten visit by a state of federal MP flagged to a council officer to be “entered into councillors’ diaries”.
Crs David Eden, Steve Staikos and Rosemary West voted against the proposal. Tamara Barth was absent from the meeting due to ill health.
The News asked Labor federal MP for Isaacs Mark Dreyfus, Carrum MP Sonya Kilkenny and Mordialloc MP Tim Richardson whether they would notify council of any future intention to visit kindergartens in Kingston.
All three said they intended to keep visiting kinders as they already occasionally do and would not formally notify council beforehand.
The Labor trio all said they have always tried to work constructively with council on federal, state and council funding for childcare.
“My purpose in visiting any kindergarten, as an elected member of parliament, is to hear directly from parents, carers and the dedicated staff about the issues that matter to them – about what can be done to improve kindergarten services and about what is working well,” Ms Kilkenny said.
“I want to make sure that 4 year old kinder funding is continued and I would love to see kinder funding extended to 3 year olds.”
Mr Dreyfus said: “find visiting kindergartens a useful way to speak with working parents and better understand the needs of young families and of the childcare sector.
“I will continue to visit kindergartens in my electorate, as I have done since my election to Parliament.”
Mr Richardson said it is important that council and MPs work together to provide childcare services to the community.
“I’ve had a number of positive meetings with kinders and council representatives and I don’t think it needs to be as blatant as ‘who is attending what meetings’.”
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 12 August 2015
