CAMPAIGNERS WELCOME GREEN’S COMMITMENT TO PUSH FOR BOLD EARLY CHILDHOOD REFORMS IN NEXT NT PARLIAMENT
01 July 2024 – A new alliance of 18 organisations working in early childhood has welcomed the NT Green’s commitment [1] to advocate for key early childhood reforms outlined in the Alliance’s Action Plan [2] in the next Territory Parliament.
The Thrive by Five Northern Territory Early Childhood Alliance, backed by the Minderoo Foundation, launched the plan at Goodstart CDU in May.
Alliance convenor Sarah Rheinberger said the commitment from The Greens would help ensure early childhood reforms continue to be a key election issue and a key priority for the next parliament.
“We welcome the Territory Greens’ support for bold and transformative early childhood reforms which would help ensure that every child across the NT gets the best possible start to life.
“Our current approach to early childhood education and care is leaving far too many children behind, especially those from vulnerable communities, including First Nations communities.
“Over 32 per cent of children in the Territory are developmentally vulnerable, higher than anywhere else in the nation, largely because we lack accessible and affordable early learning.
“We know that access to high-quality learning in the early years can be transformative for children, enabling them to start school ready to learn and reduce their interactions with the criminal justice system.
“Making early learning more accessible and affordable is also vital to ensuring that we take meaningful steps towards Closing the Gap.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be underrepresented in the Territory’s early learning system, sowing the seeds for ongoing disparities in development outcomes between them and their non-Indigenous counterparts.
“It is clear that bold and urgent action is needed to create a holistic child development system where early years education and care, allied health, maternal health, disability support and related services all function together to create better outcomes for children and families.
“Our Action Plan lays out a way forward toward developing a truly inclusive, accessible and affordable early childhood system, and we thank The Greens for committing to advocating for these reforms.
“Northern Territory’s families and children cannot wait any longer and need action now.
“We strongly encourage other parties to follow The Greens’ lead and commit to building a more robust early childhood system in the Territory,” Ms Rheinberg said.
[1] NT Greens – Early Childhood Education and Care
[2] Thrive by Five NT Alliance Action Plan
