Hon David Seymour
Associate Minister of Education

Associate Education Minister David Seymour is congratulating all parties involved in the successful resolution of the Country Kindy dispute, with the Centre officially relicensed today.

The decision comes as the first Regulatory Sector Review into Early Childhood Education is preparing to report back with proposals to cut red tape across the sector.

“The Secretary for Education, the Early Childhood Council, and the proprietors at Country Kindy have all played their part in getting to a positive resolution. However, the episode also highlights why the Government is carrying out a Sector Review into early childhood regulations.

“The matter would not have been highlighted without the diligent industry of the Early Childhood Council and their Chief Executive, Simon Laube. In my view, the ECC have done a sound job of advocating for the sector.

“Most importantly, the proprietors at Country Kindy have gone through a tumultuous time when all they want to do is serve their community and its youngest members. They’ve worked to resolve seven issues that the Ministry raised with them as part of the process. I’m pleased to see them get relief, have their full licence returned, and be able to get on with the real work they get out of bed for.

“This episode highlights how much energy can be sucked up by regulatory uncertainty. It’s important to stress there was never any issue of child safety at Country Kindy. The issues mostly related to practice and documentation around curriculum. I hope that the Ministry for Regulation’s Sector review will go a long way to increasing regulatory certainty for the sector.”

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