Premier visits Bendigo to announce new parenting centre

Funded by the state government, the multi-million dollar Early Parenting Centre (EPC) will be designed to support families with children up to four-years-old and will have twn residentaily family units, four day-stay places, a kitchen and dining area, playrooms and outdoor areas.

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At the moment, parents struggling with sleepless children are forced to travel to Melbourne for specialised care.

Kristy Webb attended the Melbourne early parenting clinic with her children, aged two and four at the time, and said her family were struggling to stay afloat before getting professional help.

"I had two and a half years of full sleep deprivation where we would be awake, my husband and I from anywhere between six to 11 times a night, while working full time," she said.

"Ultimately, when we went there we had a week stay. We had access to a nurse 24/7 and they gave us tips, strategies that we were able to use to help the kids beyond our time there."

While Ms Webb was grateful to finally get a spot in the clinic after being on the waitlist for three months, the mother of two said the lack of a local clinic was disruptive.

"My husband and I both had to take a week off work to be able to do that," she said.

"But if we had the facilities here, it would have meant we could have carried on with our relatively normal family day to day routines, and we could have even come in for day sessions instead of the full week."

The premier said the local investment would create 30-odd construction jobs.

While the principal builder is not Bendigo based, Mr Andrews said local subcontractors would be used.

As well as construction jobs, the EPC will be staffed by another 30 local staff members, from nurses to educators.

"Whenever we announce extra staff, the first question is where they're going to come from," Mr Andrews said.

"We're very confident that we'll find those staff just as we have done these last couple of years. It's a big part of our comprehensive health plan. And this is one one part of an overall service system of recruiting those staff, and we have demonstrated our ability to do it."

In his visit to Bendigo the premier also addressed the "red shirts" scandal that saw almost $400,000 in public funds misused by Labor party members during the 2014 election campaign.

On Wednesday the ombudsman found no evidence the premier "designed, propagated or facilitated" the scheme however said until the matters were addressed with the "necessary rigour", the scandals would not be the last.

"We've accepted all the recommendations and gone beyond those recommendations," Mr Andrews said on Friday.

"Some of it will be able to be achieved quickly, while other elements of those recommendations will take a bit longer, but we're committed to all of them."

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