ACT Labor: Meals in schools
ACT Labor has promised to expand its free Meals in Schools program to 20 schools over the next term.
The trial of the program began at five schools at the end of July, nearly four years after Labor’s 2020 election pledge to trial free breakfast and lunch.
The $4 million pilot is due to end in July 2025; the $32 million expansion would begin then, and five schools would be added each year.
Labor states that schools would be prioritised according to need, and that more than 8,300 students would benefit.
“The program will not only help thousands of public school students with their education, but it will save Canberra families on their grocery bills,” a spokesperson said.
The meals are designed by a nutrition specialist, and accommodates students’ dietary needs.
Food relief charity HelpingACT will have run a school breakfast program for two years come November. Its chair, Mohammed Ali, said he appreciated Labor’s intention to expand the program to 20 schools, but believes the program is insufficient to address food insecurity in Canberra.
“While it is a very noble and community-oriented plan to help struggling families with kids’ food, it is too little and too small,” Mr Ali said. “While a gradual expansion of the program is a good idea, it may not address the dire, precarious situation that exists NOW. It may not serve the urgent need that currently exists.”
Last year, 12,500 Canberrans ran out of food, because of rising living costs, according to Volunteering ACT, while HelpingACT has seen food demand double: every week, a couple of new families approach the charity for food, including needing school breakfast items.
HelpingACT itself provides breakfast once a week to six schools (soon to be eight) and one college; it added Taylor School to its program only this week, and will add a southside school next month. That experience, Mr Ali said, meant it would be well placed to advise the government.
Mr Ali urged Labor or any other party that comes to power next month to address the issue of school meals urgently and immediately, rather than adding five more schools each year. He believes that the government should instead follow the example of Tasmania and double its school meals program. (Tasmania recently committed $14.6 million to expand its school meals program from 30 to 60 schools by 2026.)
Mr Ali believes the program should be expanded to five days a week, instead of only three.
“Hunger does not know: ‘Oh, it is Thursday or Friday,’ so I should keep quiet. If a kid is hungry, we have to provide him or her with food irrespective of the day.”
He suggests that the program be refined and made sustainable by setting criteria to identify students most in need and select schools based on demographic data.
Mr Ali believes that the government must increase financial support for struggling families as well as for schools.
“We want food requirement to reduce in the future, and we want people to provide for their family within their own income/means,” Mr Ali said.
Mr Ali urged the Liberals, Greens, and independents to come out with policies for school meals.
“Physical health is strongly linked with mental health,” Mr Ali said. “Only a healthy mind can progress, and we want our kids to be stronger in physical as well as mental health.”
HelpingACT asks schools that need support with a breakfast program to contact them at: [email protected]. HelpingACT also invites supermarkets and corporate businesses in Canberra to donate breakfast items. If they can help, please contact HelpingACT urgently.
Independents for Canberra candidate David Pollard criticised the ACT Government’s plan to expand Meals in Schools before it had completed a quarter of the pilot, calling it “irresponsible spending”.
Mr Pollard noted that the original $1.4 million announced in 2020 had ballooned to $4.5 million, and the proposed expansion to 15 more schools would cost $32 million.
“Costs are already blowing out, and that hits the pocket of all ratepayers. I would have hoped costs became more efficient as this was scaled up, not less.”
Mr Pollard, president of the Gold Creek School P&C (a Meals in Schools pilot site), said that while the program is generally well received, it still has lessons to learn before committing that type of money.
Mr Pollard criticised the lack of genuine consultation: “Our P&C was promised consultation in 2023, but the rollout has been politicised beyond that, so any consultation has been merely one-way advice. Talk with school communities, talk with canteens, and follow the evidence.
“How would Labor know if this is ‘practical and proven’ if they won’t let their own pilot run its course? Like a review of nurse-led walk-in clinics, Labor seems allergic to self-reflection. If a program cannot stand up to scrutiny, the public needs to know. If they can, that is fantastic, and the public can be assured of that.”
Mr Pollard said he supported universal programs like Meals in Schools for their inclusivity and ability to remove the stigma of needing support, but warned against using the program for electioneering.
“We need to be responsible here to make sure a full rollout is viable instead of being used as election point scoring. Our kids are too important to be jeopardised like that.”
ACT Greens education spokeswoman Laura Nuttall welcomed Labor’s commitment to further roll out free school lunches, but noted concerns from teachers, parents and carers that education minister Yvette Berry was rolling out the program too slowly.
“Kids need to learn on full stomachs, and, as the cost-of-living crisis hits, an increasing number of Canberrans, some kids, just aren’t getting lunches.”
The Greens said they would soon release their education policies.
“While increased funding is needed, many of Labor’s policies announced today are already government policy,” Ms Nuttall said.
Canberra Liberals: Health workers
Following this week’s policy for GPs, the Canberra Liberals have announced measures to attract and retain health staff in the ACT.
The Liberals would increase education allowances and protected training time for registrars and commit $120,000 to support doctors and medical students struggling with fatigue, burnout, bullying, and anxiety.
Shadow health minister Leanne Castley criticised the government for neglecting frontline workers and junior staff, leading to training accreditations being under threat throughout the term.
“This policy ensures that junior doctors have sufficient arrangements within their EBA to make sure that they can continue to train and improve when they stay in Canberra,” Ms Castley said. “It also recognises that our doctors are struggling with fatigue, burnout, bullying and anxiety.”
The Liberals would conduct a royal commission into the ACT Health System, which they called for in 2023. Ms Castley said it would “provide a number of answers about the declining culture and state of the health system” under Labor. It would look at staffing and resourcing for the public health system.
The Liberals would provide affordable housing for nurses and midwives, and build a multi-story car park at the Canberra Hospital.
Opposition leader Elizabeth Lee said the Canberra Liberals would be able to deliver a new northside hospital faster by not proceeding with stage 2B of light rail.
“The Canberra Liberals are the only party that are committed to fixing the diabolical workplace culture in the health system so that we can retain our nurses, midwives, allied health and junior medical doctors for the future,” Ms Castley said.
The ACT Greens would establish an independent board to oversee Canberra’s health services, similar to models in other states, which would ensure timely improvements and better care without the delays associated with Royal Commissions, health spokeswoman Emma Davidson said.
Independents for Canberra candidate Sneha KC called the Liberals’ focus on addressing fatigue, burnout, and workplace culture for frontline health workers “a step in the right direction, especially as health workers face mounting pressures”. However, she raised concerns about the sustainability of these measures and how they would be implemented.
“There must be more focus on competitive salaries, working conditions, and tackling systemic burnout across the entire workforce,” Sneha KC said.
“With growing health infrastructure commitments, we’re hearing concerns that essential workforce support may be underfunded, with gaps in staffing solutions leading to underutilisation of infrastructure. The question remains: how will these initiatives be balanced and effectively resourced?”
Canberra Liberals: Disability
The Canberra Liberals would provide an additional $875,000 per year over four years to disability sector organisations to cope with additional demand, shadow disability minister James Milligan announced.
This funding includes:
- $350,000 for Advocacy for Inclusion (afi)
- $200,000 for Women with Disabilities ACT
- $175,000 for the Mental Health Community Coalition ACT
- $150,000 for ACT Down Syndrome and Intellectual Disability
The Canberra Liberals would establish a Disability Advisory Council; appoint Disability Liaison officers at Canberra hospitals, including the University of Canberra Rehabilitation hospital; provide better access to government-funded diagnosis services for neurodivergent children; and increase job opportunities for disabled Canberrans.
Mr Milligan emphasised the need for better consultation with the disability sector, noting that only 10,000 of the more than 77,000 disabled Canberrans receive NDIS support.
“Whether it’s housing, health services, planning or our city services, we must do better to ensure the disability sector is heard and included in the discussion when it comes to policies that impact them,” Mr Milligan said.
Opposition leader Elizabeth Lee said the initiatives support the building of a community where the rights and safety of disabled people are respected and valued.
“Disability is a whole-of-government issue [that] requires a whole of government response,” Ms Lee said. “For too long, the sector has been left out of decisions that impact them.”
Belco Party: Community sports
The Belco Party has announced their community sports policy, which Ginninderra candidate Alan Tutt says aims to ensure long-term funding certainty, improve sporting facilities, and enhance opportunities for community engagement in sports.
The Belco Party would introduce long-term grants (up to five years) for sporting organisations, so they can plan ahead, rather than focusing on short-term survival, and reintroduce the sports loan interest subsidy scheme to help sports clubs upgrade or expand their facilities. They also propose a government program to improve indoor and outdoor sports facilities, while a reintroduced Parks and Gardens team would properly maintain sporting facilities.
ACTSPORT would be re-established as the peak body for community sports, lobbying the ACT government and advocating for better support for all sports. A “Sports House” would serve as a central hub to support grassroots sporting organisations that cannot afford their own premises. A sports voucher scheme would help children from low-income families take part in sports.
If elected, the Belco Party promised to work with the local sporting community and government bodies to implement these changes.
“Sport is an essential part of life in Canberra, contributing to both individual health and the strength of our communities,” Mr Tutt said. “The Belco Party’s sports policy is designed to address both immediate needs and long-term goals, ensuring that Canberra’s sporting culture continues to thrive as the city grows. With a focus on sustainable funding, improved facilities, and greater support for grassroots sports, the Belco Party is committed to fostering a healthier, more active Canberra.”
Independents for Canberra leader Thomas Emerson said: “It’s great to see more candidates backing Independents for Canberra’s commitments to a peak body for community sport, a strategic plan for sporting facilities and an Active Kids vouchers scheme. Hopefully we see the major parties follow suit soon.
“Sport is vital to the health, wellbeing and social cohesion of our community, yet it hasn’t been treated as such by the Labor-Greens coalition. It’s time for that to change.”
