Amongst all his usual blather Andrew Bolt made the comment on Insiders today that Rudd’s one-stop centres haven’t been costed and questioned whether they stack up in terms priorities. While that is not the main focus at the ideas stage, and will be taken into account in the Government’s response, perhaps the priority should be to service disadvantaged areas first.

There is an Initial Summit Report (pdf) up already, and yes the Ruddster’s idea did get a guernsey as one of the top ideas (p10).

The evidence (none of which I can put my hands on at home) shows that universal programs work well for the majority, but that kids and parents at risk of harm, or poor transitions to and through school, are likely to fall through the cracks.

Programs that focus on kids at risk is because they do work in raising educational outcomes and often within a ’soft’ crime prevention approach.

Few would disagree we have a problem in Australia with a growing number of families who are inter-generationally disengaged. I think that’s what’s driving stuff like this and the social inclusion agenda.

It’s different to implement here because we don’t quite have the concentrations of disadvantage in the Australia that the UK and US have.