Wednesday, 9 February 2022

Tarneit electorate schools

Ms CONNOLLY (Tarneit) (19:18): (6203) My adjournment is for the Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, and the action I seek is that the Deputy Premier update me on the government’s efforts to purchase land for a new secondary school in Tarneit. As the Deputy Premier knows, if anyone wants to see what our government’s promise to build 100 new schools across Victoria looks like, they can look to my community in the City of Wyndham, where in just four years alone we have built a whopping eight schools, with another four set to open next year.

Mr Wynne: Four?

Ms CONNOLLY: Four! And I am very pleased to say that my electorate of Tarneit encompasses half of those new schools built in Wyndham, with another three set to open in just two years. Now, on top of this our government has shown no sign of stopping on delivering the schools we need for future generations of our young kids who will call Tarneit home. Land acquisition funding came through in last year’s state budget for a further two schools in Tarneit, including a much-needed and much-elusive secondary school. At the moment there is only one government school in Tarneit for senior secondary students—that is for students in years 10 to 12—and that is our wonderful Tarneit Senior College, which is also getting a fabulous upgrade to take on another 300 students. Now, with Truganina North Secondary School set to open in 2024, the high school in Tarneit is the missing piece in the puzzle to cater for Tarneit’s growing population of secondary school students.

It is certainly something that is on the minds of many, many families living in Tarneit, particularly for our growing estates in Tarneit West. Like me they are absolutely out of their minds with happiness that these schools are in the pipeline and that their kids are going to have fantastic new schools to go to, most importantly when they start year 7 in the coming years. That is why I know they will gladly welcome an update from the Deputy Premier on where our government is at with securing the land for this school.