Child concerns

By Tania Martin
LABOR candidate for La Trobe Rodney Cocks has promised to build a childcare centre in Upwey if elected on Saturday.
Mr Cocks said there were more than 150 families currently waiting for places at the Sherbrooke Children’s Centre in Upwey, which demonstrates the chronic shortage of places.
He said Labor was committed to building up to 260 childcare centres around Australia at a cost of more than $200 million.
Liberal La Trobe MP Jason Wood said he was also concerned about childcare and had been fighting for years to fix the problems in areas such as Upwey.
Mr Wood said he had supported the Sherbrooke Children’s Centre in its fight against closure and encouraged it to apply for regional partnership funding.
“I think a childcare centre is a great idea and we (the Coalition) have promised to spend $50 million on childcare across the country,” he said.
“If the people in Upwey tell me that’s what they want I will fight tooth and nail to get it for the residents, like I did with the Upwey RSL, the bowling club and the Burrinja Gallery.”
The council has allocated $5.6 million in its 10-year capital works budget for the centre, which would house childcare and community services for people living in the hills.