Mr Mallard said if the investment is made in educating kids their future pathway is so much better.
Appleton Kindergarten head teacher Julie Chatham said she and her teachers are advocates for everything for families and whanau, including health.
"We are the early years hub," she said. "There are social problems in Dannevirke and if we could address those things in the early childhood sector we wouldn't have all these kids in jail.
"Early childhood teachers are passionate about children and families. But for much of the 15 years I've been a teacher we've been fighting for early childhood education."
Mr Mallard acknowledged staff could only wrap support around families if they were fully trained.
"One of the terrible things the National Government has done has been to drop that funding level," he said.
"Some of the skills early childhood teachers require are more complex than those required by high school teachers."
Mr McAnulty said Dannevirke was a real focus for him and the Labour Party in the run up to September's general election.
"Every week I'm making phone calls and we're picking up volunteers and building a team to identify every possible Labour voter," he said.
"Last election I won the Featherston and Masterton votes by getting out and talking to people. This time if we win Masterton, Carterton, Dannevirke and Featherston, we can take the seat and we're very positive. Every community has their own issues and an MP must understand and I'll be taking the time to talk to people."
Mr McAnulty said a town like Dannevirke used to be a sustainable community.
"Labour believes the Government has a responsibility to invest locally," he said.
"I want to see towns with confidence and hope, but they don't have that confidence at the moment."