Edward River Council is continuing its strong advocacy to address the acute shortage of childcare places in Deniliquin and the wider Edward River region, and is collaborating with Intereach on immediate term solutions.
The recent closure of the Deniliquin Early Learning Centre's 39-place facility has placed further pressure on an already stretched system, where even before this closure, 69% of local children were unable to access care.
Mayor Ashley Hall said the challenge is one of the most pressing issues facing the community.
"This is a devastating blow for local families, with so many already struggling to secure childcare. The impact on working parents, children's early development, and our local economy is significant. Council is treating this as a top priority and is advocating strongly for immediate and longer-term support from both state and federal governments," Cr Hall said.
Edward River Council's actions since the Centre's closure on 24 July have centred on working with industry and government partners to secure urgent solutions, investigating investment opportunities to expand childcare infrastructure, and supporting existing providers to grow their capacity.
A key part of this work has been in partnership with Intereach, with positive progress being made.
Intereach CEO Yvette Buhagiar said the collaboration with Edward River Council is already helping increase places in the short term.
"Together, we've achieved an important milestone in gaining rural and remote classification for Deniliquin, which opens doors for greater support and resourcing to expand family day care. In the immediate term, our educators have been able to extend services to four more families, places that were filled straight away with those most in need, which is a positive step forward while we work on longer-term solutions," Mrs Buhagiar said.
Both Edward River Council and Intereach stressed that this is only the beginning of a broader effort to secure sustainable childcare services for the community.
"We know families need solutions now, but we must also ensure this sector is supported into the future. We'll continue to push for the investment and partnerships needed so every child in our region has access to safe, reliable, and high-quality early learning opportunities," Cr Hall said.
Mrs Buhagiar said Intereach was proud to be part of the short-term solutions now in place, but its focus was firmly on the bigger picture.
"Every child in Deniliquin and the Edward River region deserves access to quality early learning, and we'll keep working with Council and other partners to make that a reality," she said.
