More support for families in Fitzroy Crossing

Families in the Fitzroy Crossing community in Western Australia’s Kimberley region now have greater access to child care and early childhood support services with the completion of a new children and family centre.

The Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin joined Western Australian Labor Senator, Glenn Sterle in Fitzroy Crossing today to tour and to celebrate the completion of the Baya Gawiy Buga-yani Jandu-yani-u Centre.

The Australian Government has provided $42 million to build five facilities in Western Australia, including the Fitzroy Crossing centre.

Ms Macklin said the new centre would provide vital support for Indigenous families in the region with young children, as well as providing opportunities for local people to undertake training and work as child care workers.

“This fantastic new centre will bring together different programs and services that are being offered for families in Fitzroy Crossing under the one roof,” Ms Macklin said.

“Families can come here to access child health services, playgroups and parenting courses, and even cooking classes.

“It’s going to be a great resource for the community and it will help make sure children in Fitzroy Crossing are getting the best possible start in life.”

The Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth, Peter Garrett, said that investment in early childhood was critical and that’s why the Australian Government had delivered an unprecedented level of Commonwealth Government commitment to early childhood education and care.

“Under this Government we have invested more than $292 million to deliver 38 children and family centres across Australia, under the National Partnership Agreement on Indigenous Early Childhood Development,” Mr Garrett said.

“The evidence clearly shows that the experiences in the first five years of a child’s life are extremely important in promoting their future good health, educational and social development, which is why these sorts of investments are so important.”

Senator Sterle said the Baya Gawiy Buga-yani Jandu-yani-u Centre will form part of an educational precinct in Fitzroy Crossing, where learning begins locally at early childhood and continues right through to adult education and training at the new Kimberley Training Institute campus.

“As part of the development of the Local Implementation Plan, the community said loud and clear that they wanted this new centre built,” Senator Sterle said.

“The centre builds on existing work to close the gap on disadvantage among Indigenous children, and helps make sure kids in Fitzroy Crossing are growing up happy, healthy and safe.”

Ms Macklin said the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Service Delivery was delivering positive outcomes for Fitzroy Crossing residents.

“As well as this new centre, the community is benefiting from new and refurbished houses, a new police station, renal dialysis services and additional youth programs.

“It’s great to see the successful partnership between the community and government delivering such strong results.”