General News
19 December, 2025
EB raises safety concerns for local kinder
With preliminary planning set to begin for next year’s Energy Breakthrough (EB), stakeholders at the TL Stone Memorial Kindergarten are hopeful their safety risks and access concerns are reviewed urgently.
EB organisers have already announced the 2026 iteration will be held from Wednesday, November 18, to Sunday, November 22.
While much of the event’s schedule will remain largely untouched, TL Stone teacher Jo Hayley said current conditions cannot continue for the kindergarten to operate during EB.
“We know how great EB is for the schools, for the children and for the community and we would never want to hinder that, but we want EB to realise that we are here and to have a little bit of consideration for our families,” Ms Hayley said.
Located at 4 Lake Road, TL Stone is positioned right next to the EB’s track one, creating significant access issues with large vehicles blocking the kindergarten site.
These problems have previously been fraught during the kindergarten’s Thursday class, running alongside EB’s HPV and Tryathlon Primary School trials.
Ahead of their third EB in charge of TL Stone, Ms Hayley and educator Debbie McClelland elected to shift their Thursday class to Monday.
According to Ms Hayley, the kindergarten had been given assurances from the Central Goldfields Shire Council that their Monday to Wednesday schedule from 8.15 am – 3.45 pm would leave the kindergarten mostly uninterrupted by EB.
“We thought to take this stress off us, we would take our Thursday to the Monday, thinking that we would be running before Energy Breakthrough gets up and running,” she said.
“All we got this year was a letter saying that (Lake Road) would be closed for two and a half weeks. I sent an email to the enquiry line asking what access our families will have to the kinder.
“The response was that we would lose access on midday on Wednesday, but we would have total access on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning for drop-off.”
Despite their communication with council before the event, and the first track one practice session starting at 6.30 pm on Wednesday, kindergarten access was severely challenging for parents.
“We have got a lot of vulnerable families who really rely on kinder for so many reasons and they couldn’t get here, which added stress to those families,” Ms Hayley said.
“We had feedback from families of children having meltdowns when they got home because of the added stress.”
Many parents expressed their frustration regarding the lack of communication and perceived thought for the kindergarten. One of those parents was Tammy Perry, whose son Brayden attends TL Stone.
“I have no problems with EB I think it’s great for schools, but my concern was actually getting Brayden in was very difficult,” she said.
“It disrupts everything to do with going to kinder, taking him here, having him calm because he does have his own medical concerns.
“It’s stressful for us, which puts stress on our kids, which puts everybody on edge.”
The situation was especially difficult for families with children with additional needs, as one parent, who wished to remain anonymous, explained.
“When EB came up, we thought he was prepared for what to expect, but unfortunately, it didn’t appear that council followed through with what they had communicated,” the parent said.
“We couldn’t drive in at all on the Wednesday morning, so I had to park at Woolworths and walk him and that wasn’t what he was expecting. I ended up having to actually physically carry him, kicking and screaming, all the way to the kindergarten.
“On Wednesday, there was a big trailer parked right at the gates where you enter the kinder. It was as if the kinder wasn’t even there, or wasn’t even thought about.
“If something happened to one of the kids, it would be very difficult for emergency services to get in there.
“If they made some very small compromises, they could make that a much more pleasant experience for those children.
“If I had to confront it next year, I just wouldn’t send him for the two days because it was so traumatic.”
On Thursday, November 20, TL Stone addressed a letter to The Advertiser, council, EB organisers and two shire councillors raising their concerns and outlining possible solutions.
Listed solutions include providing families with a vehicle sticker for drop-off and pick-up and installing fencing around both kindergarten access points.
After originally speaking with The Advertiser, the kindergarten said council reached out via email apologising for the lack of communication and said they will inform TL Stone of progress around their ideas when planning continues early next year.
Central Goldfields Shire general manager Emma Little said council will take the kindergarten’s feedback on board.
“Running an event as big as Energy Breakthrough requires extensive planning and logistics,” she said.
“We’re sorry for the frustration experienced by the staff and families of TL Stone Kindergarten.
“Energy Breakthrough has a real focus on continuous improvement, and we’re committed to taking on the feedback shared by TL Stone Kindergarten and working together to plan for the disruptions that come with an event of this size and significance.”