Supply & Demand

Residents of the Town of Port Hedland invited to have their say on future of ECEC

Freya Lucas

Dec 17, 2020

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Community members from the Town of Port Hedland have been invited to have a say about the future of childcare in the town as part of the community childcare survey, which closes at 11:59pm Monday 21 December.

The aim of the survey is to gauge the Town’s progress in this space over the last two years. The online survey closes at 11:59pm Monday 21 December.

In October 2018, Council endorsed the Town to take action on Hedland’s critical shortage of child care placements by investigating possible options for the future. Although not traditionally within local government’s jurisdiction, the decision aligned with the Town’s Strategic Community Plan 2018-2028.

Since then, the previous Port Hedland Library site on Dempster Street has been converted into more space for child care service delivery by One Tree Community Services, and the previous South Hedland TAFE site has also been refurbished into fit-for-purpose space.

Extensive community consultation in recent years identified a shortage of accessible, affordable child care placements as a major issue facing local families.

Mayor Peter Carter encouraged all local residents, especially families with young children, to have their say in the Survey.

“The Town’s leadership understands that childcare shortages impede our ability to attract and retain young families, placing pressure on people’s ability to balance the demands of parenting and working,” the Mayor said.

“I’d like to thank all the local service providers, businesses, community groups and residents who have passionately advocated for more child care places in Hedland, contributing to numerous consultation efforts in recent years,” he added.

“With record public infrastructure investments supporting a pipeline of local job creation in the decade ahead, we need to ensure all these workers have access to affordable, quality child care.”

Those who are currently on waiting lists, or thinking about starting a family are invited to contribute, to capture a broad cross section of life stages, experiences and viewpoints.

To participate in the survey, please click here.

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