By JESSE GRAHAM
APPLAUSE echoed through the Yarra Ranges Council chambers last Tuesday night, when councillors elected to keep Family Day Care (FDC) services running in the shire.
A motion on the table to end the provision of FDC was defeated in a six-to-three vote at the 24 June meeting, following over an hour of fierce debate on the matter.
As a result, the FDC scheme, which services 101 families through 21 educators, will continue in the Yarra Ranges into the future.
Originally slated as the 12th item on the agenda for the meeting, the proposal to end provision of the council’s FDC Scheme was pushed to first place by the councillors.
This was to facilitate residents with children by not having to wait until late in the evening for the item to come up, and because the entire public gallery was filled with people opposed to the proposal.
The council officer’s report justified ending the service by stating that the scheme was unable to reach cost neutrality, with the council subsidising the scheme to the tune of $92,000.
Yarra Ranges Council’s Director of Social and Economic Development, Ali Wastie, said that Federal Budget cuts and five other services operating in the municipality made it unsustainable.
However, Councillor Samantha Dunn immediately took aim at the cost-neutrality argument, and said the scheme had been “set up to fail”, with council not actively recruiting educators.
Cr Dunn also argued that the social impacts of ending the scheme were downplayed in the report.
“For me, the report is incomplete, not factual, and I would even go as far as to say it is biased,” she said.
“That is the first time I have said that about any report at Yarra Ranges Council.
“There is no consideration of social impacts.”
A public submitter against the proposal to end the services told the councillors that they used the FDC service, and had only found out the proposal would be discussed four days before the meeting.
Due to the timeframe, the submitter said they had few notes on the matter, but treated the meeting like a David and Goliath face-off.
“I’m going to stand up and see if I can make a difference,” she said.
Following this speech, Cr Dunn repeatedly questioned Ms Wastie on the finer details of the scheme and said that not enough was done to assess the impact of ending the scheme.
Councillor Maria McCarthy moved a motion afterwards to end the service, in line with the report’s recommendations, which was seconded by Councillor Jason Callanan.
Debate on the matter ran for over an hour, and those in favour of closing the service often found themselves at the receiving end of jeers, indignant shouts or scoffs from the public gallery.
By the end of the debate, Cr Callanan announced that he had changed his mind on the matter, and would no longer support the motion in a vote.
Councillors Fiona McAllister, Len Cox, Noel Cliff, Samantha Dunn, Andy Witlox and Jason Callanan voted against ending the service, while councillors Jim Child, Terry Avery and Maria McCarthy were in favour.
A new motion was then put forward and passed, which stated that council would provide FDC services and commit to enhance and grow the business, with a marketing campaign for additional educators.
After hearing that the FDC services were saved, the gallery erupted in applause and cheers, and the amassed residents left the meeting, with many beaming.
