Roy speaks up for Bourke Children’s Service

Senior staff at Bourke and District Children’s Services – Tanya Mitchell, Prue Ritchie and Amanda Bell. Photo TWH

Member for Barwon Roy Butler expressed his concerns to the NSW parliament about funding for Bourke’s early childhood educational future during a private member’s statement last week.

Mr Butler said that he welcomed any investment in Barwon, and that any investment in early childhood education in western New South Wales is greatly needed.

He acknowledged that Bourke was one of the beneficiaries of new funding for preschools, but that ‘something seems to have gone wrong in doing something good for a disadvantaged community’.

“The government may have ended up inadvertently doing harm,” Mr Butler said.

Mr Butler was speaking about the $4.8 million announced in 2022 for the proposed new early childhood facility in Bourke.

“We’ve got to make sure that when we invest in the community, that we have consulted with that community,” Mr Butler said. “There’s some principles about engaging with the Bourke community which are agreed by government and in this case were not followed, so it’s no wonder we end up with a result that’s less than ideal.” […]

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