Tuesday, 21 February 2023

 Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Treaty and First Peoples) (12:53): I rise today to share with the house my joy at being able to join the Minister for Education to officially open the final stage of the Dandenong High School redevelopment. Minister Hutchins and I were joined by students, teachers, the school’s principal Susan Ogden and former principal Martin Culkin, who have overseen the transformation of the school into a state-of-the-art learning facility.

The final stage includes brand new STEM and food tech areas, a new canteen and a refurbished library, with a new senior visual arts space. It was really great to tour the facilities and see and hear firsthand from the students about the monumental impact that these upgrades are having on their learning. The students also talked about the new opportunities for learning and pathways to higher education and employment that the new STEM program has offered them in particular. I would like to thank Andy, Ruba, Ronan, Keely and Shukriya for their presentations at the opening – all incredible young people with big futures ahead.

Over the past eight years the Victorian government has invested some $12.8 billion to build and upgrade schools across this state. This investment will ensure that Victorian government schools are well equipped to prepare our students for the future, and buildings like these enable new models of learning and add to the toolkit available to our incredible teachers. Our investment will ensure our education system remains dynamic and supportive while providing world-class teaching environments for both students and staff. Only Labor is delivering it.