As far as protests go, there were a few more smiles than usual at the Australian National University on Tuesday.
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But the families set to lose their beloved childcare centres on campus are deadly serious about fighting the university's decision to end the leases on heritage buildings it says cannot be repaired.
Anna Samson, chair of the board of Cubby House on Campus, said parents were disappointed by a lack of communication from the university.
"We should be able to see the reports on our own centres as to what's supposedly wrong with them," she told The Canberra Times.
"ANU is a public institution, this information should be publicly available and it should definitely be available to the directors and parents who run these centres."
About 100 children and 50 parents or carers attended the teddy bears picnic-themed protest on the lawn of the ANU College of Law, organised by the National Tertiary Education Union.
The site was chosen in part for its proximity to the office of ANU Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell, with whom parents have been unable to secure a meeting.
It was held at the same time Professor Bell convened a meeting of the ANU Campus Planning Committee, which noted the parents' concerns but did not make any further decisions.
Last week, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher revealed that she had spoken with Professor Bell and had been told the university would share excerpts from a heritage expert report, backing its position. But parents and operators are still waiting.
An ANU spokesperson told The Canberra Times it had provided "a verbal summary of the heritage report's key findings, which make it abundantly clear that full remediation of the existing buildings would require demolition - something the university cannot do under its heritage obligations."
A written summary would be provided "in coming days".
The ANU had received advice that any application to overturn existing heritage obligations would need to be approved by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, he said.
The advice said based on the buildings' heritage values, approval would "be highly unlikely."
The university has not sought heritage exemptions from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
"ANU has sought external heritage advice on how the university can satisfy its obligations under heritage laws while these buildings operate as childcare facilities," the spokesperson said.
"This advice is from a leading, independent expert in heritage law, and makes clear that continuing to utilise the cottages as childcare centres would significantly degrade their heritage value and potentially place the university in breach of heritage regulations ... ANU is satisfied with this advice and the robust expertise on which it is based."
Senator Gallagher and independent Canberra senator David Pocock - whose office has been inundated with pleas for assistance - joined families and educators in Parliament House last week, along with Canberra MP Alicia Payne and ACT Early Childhood Minister Yvette Berry, to call on the university to work towards a solution with the families.
The centres that will be closed are Acton Early Childhood Centre, Cubby House on Campus, University Preschool and Child Care Centre and Heritage Early Childhood Centre.