Like all Australians, the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW members and organisation are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of human and animal lives, as well as the destruction of parts of regional New South Wales, residential and commercial properties and community infrastructure.
Last week on 13 January 2020, the NSW Department of Education convened a meeting of the Early Childhood Education Advisory Group during which all members (including ACA NSW) put forward suggestions of assistance. ACA NSW looks forward to contributing to and supporting your Department wherever possible in aid of those who have been affected by the bushfires.
That said, there was one issue which ACA NSW believe would need the immediate attention of the NSW Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning (the Hon Sarah Mitchell MLC) and the NSW Minister for Emergency Services (the Hon David Elliott MP) – the power of the NSW Government to declare a local emergency for early childhood education and care (ECEC) services that are in areas where schools have been instructed to temporarily close in anticipation of bushfires.
Back in November 2019, the NSW Government instructed more than 575 schools to be closed then amid catastrophic bushfire conditions. This, of course, put hundreds of ECEC services on high alert ready to either evacuate or to close their services should the need arise. However, given neighbouring schools had already closed, too many of these services were confused given they had not received any advice from local authorities that a local emergency had been declared.
Fortunately, these ECEC services used their good judgement and implemented their emergency and evacuation policies and procedures to great effect. The fact that there was no loss of human lives directly associated with those ECEC services may bear testimony.
Nevertheless, during such emergencies and times of danger, confusion ought to be kept at a minimum for clear decisions to be implemented to ensure the protection of lives and property.
To that end, ACA NSW has asked both Ministers to consider legislative remedies so that when the NSW Government instructs schools to be closed for particular emergencies, that the NSW Government also declares local emergencies to be in effect in those same areas for the benefit of early childhood education and care services’ children, parents and staff.
PUBLISHED: 21 JANUARY 2020