Community members and Gannawarra Shire Council have endorsed the Victorian Government’s latest announcement on a state-run childcare centre in Cohuna.
Tenielle Edge, who has advocated for childcare in Cohuna for over four years, was “over the moon” further details on the centre had been released.
“I honestly couldn’t even put into words how excited I am – that’s how big it is,” Ms Edge said.
On Tuesday, October 29, it was announced the Early Learning and Childcare Centre would be built at Cohuna Consolidated School and open in early 2027.
Ms Edge began campaigning on the issue in 2020, with her efforts leading to funding for a viability study of childcare in Cohuna in 2022.
Working alongside local families and with council, in December 2023 their lobbying led to the government earmarking the town for a state-run childcare centre.
“For roughly 28 years, people have been wanting this to happen, and it’s only two years away now,” Ms Edge said.
With only 16 places currently available per day across all four family daycare centres in Cohuna, Ms Edge said local families constantly struggle to find suitable care for their children.
The Cohuna Early Learning and Childcare Centre will have over 100 places for children between six months and five years old, which Ms Edge said would help greatly.
“That’s just fantastic. Will it cover everyone? Probably not, but it’s something, it’s an option,” she said.
“At the moment we have nothing, so something has to be better than what we’ve got.”
Ms Edge said she was lucky to now have one day per week booked at a family daycare centre, but she also paid a private babysitter for childcare.
Previously, her family has hired au pairs, driven to and from Barham each day, moved to Echuca temporarily, and received help from grandparents and friends for daycare.
While all three of her children will be too old to use the centre when it opens, Ms Edge said her stubbornness had helped her see the centre become a reality for the town.
She acknowledged Paul Fernee and Brooke Arnold from Gannawarra Shire Council for their “powerhouse of work”.
“They’ve been working on this for many years now, and without them, I just don’t think it would have happened,” Ms Edge said.
Council acting chief executive Amanda Wilson said she welcomed the government’s announcement as a significant milestone in the community-led campaign for childcare.
“The establishment of the Cohuna Early Learning and Childcare Centre will ease the pressure on our current child care programs, with some families currently having to wait at least 12 months to access long day care,” Ms Wilson said.
“Council will work with the state government to ensure the building matches the community’s needs, which were outlined in the Exploring Care and Education in Cohuna final report.”
The council’s focus now, Ms Wilson said, would turn towards the employment of early education staff.
“The rollout of the pre-Prep program will result in new employment opportunities in this sector; however, we need to attract people to these jobs,” she said.