General News
9 August, 2025
Mums will have a legacy in centre
I KNOW how hard local mums and families in Wedderburn fought to get a child care centre in their town. I remember meeting many of them back in 2022 and how much their stories stayed with me. Of babies in play pens at the local butcher, toddlers...
New facilities are now what schooldeserves, writes Martha Haylett
I KNOW how hard local mums and families in Wedderburn fought to get a child care centre in their town.
I remember meeting many of them back in 2022 and how much their stories stayed with me.
Of babies in play pens at the local butcher, toddlers locked in the backseat of the ute to keep them safe when farm machinery was being used, and mums working all hours of the night to keep their small businesses going because they would be looking after their little ones all day.
It was even harder for families without grandparents close by to help, and meant many women were not able to go back to work after having babies.
They told me that getting childcare locally would be a game changer for them and would mean more young families could stay living in Wedderburn.
That’s why I was so proud to join local mums recently to celebrate the start of construction of their much-anticipated early learning centre, on site at Wedderburn College.
It was a really special occasion, and I told them that the centre would be their legacy.
It will have outdoor play areas, a maternal and child health consulting room, community room for meetings and playgroup, and parking too.
Kindergarten will also be on site, with room for up to 90 three and four-year olds to get the best start in life.
The early learning centre is on track to open next year – saving families time and money, with care close to home. It is one of 50 new early learning centres being built by the State Labor Government as part of our Best Start, Best Life reforms.
It was also a pleasure to join in on the festivities as part of the 160th birthday of education in Wedderburn recently.
We celebrated education over the decades and officially opened the $12.8 million redevelopment of Wedderburn College. The school looked spectacular, with an upgraded sports stadium, science building, kitchen, classrooms, outdoor stairs, ramps, and landscaping.
It is finally what the school community deserves, with classrooms and facilities that match the quality education that students receive from their teachers.
I fought hard for the redevelopment, telling the education minister and others that Wedderburn
kids deserved the same modern classrooms and opportunities as Melbourne kids.
Now that work is complete on the school, a new early learning centre is on the way, and Donaldson Park across the road is looking better than ever, there is a real sense of progress in Wedderburn.
I have loved working with the community to get these projects done and look forward to continuing to support the town with even more things to come.
I want to give a big thank you to Principal Danny Forrest for all he has done as part of these projects. He has gone into bat for Wedderburn College and the wider community at every opportunity, and his passion and love for education is second to none.
On another note – I also wanted to congratulate Dakota Martin, Indi Simpson, Tyson Blair, and Chantelle Badenhorst for successfully completing the Kokoda trek last month.
I was honoured to work with the Wedderburn Korong Vale RSL Sub-Branch to support their efforts to get the four students across to Papua New Guinea for this once in a lifetime opportunity.
I know that they would have made amazing memories over the nine-day trek that will stay with them forever, including visiting the Bomana War Cemetery at Port Moresby to see the graves of those who died.
Students were allocated a fallen soldier from our area and taken to the location where they fought and were ultimately killed. It is a deeply powerful experience, as they are asked to make a commitment to that soldier about how they will live their life.
Not only does it tell the story of Kokoda to a new generation, but it also helps to shape our future leaders.
A big congratulations again to Dakota, Indi, Tyson and Chantelle – your community is so proud of
you.
Martha Haylett of the member for Ripon