Tuesday, 14 November 2023

 Juliana ADDISON (Wendouree) (19:19): (440) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Education. Will the Minister for Education come to my electorate of Wendouree to see how our record investment in education is transforming our schools and supporting our teachers and students? Across my electorate of Wendouree we have so many amazing government primary and secondary schools, as well as Catholic and independent schools. I am very proud of our government secondary schools in my electorate. In Alfredton we have Ballarat High School, in Wendouree we have Mount Rowan Secondary College and in Sebastopol we have Phoenix college. Proudly our Labor government has invested tens of millions of dollars into these excellent government schools to deliver transformative upgrades and give our teachers and students the facilities and learning spaces they deserve.

I wish to acknowledge all of the principals across my electorate for their leadership at their schools as well as in our community. I want to thank them, as well as the teaching and support staff, for the excellent work they do supporting students in and out of the classroom. I particularly wish to recognise the contribution of retiring Ballarat High School principal Gary Palmer. I acknowledge his service of more than 14 years in the role of principal and wish him all the best for the future. Thank you for your tireless work and dedication to achieving strong outcomes for Ballarat High. I would also like to congratulate Stephan Fields, who has been appointed the next principal of Ballarat High School.

The Allan Labor government is also supporting our teachers in Ballarat and the region with the establishment of the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership in Camp Street, Ballarat. The academy is delivering advanced professional learning for high-performing teachers across government, Catholic and independent schools in the centre of Ballarat. As a former teacher I am so pleased that the academy is providing opportunities for teachers locally to develop their skills and become recognised as statewide leaders in teaching excellence while still teaching in classrooms across my electorate and the region.

I am also very proud of our government’s strong support for the Ballarat Specialist School with an investment of $10 million to upgrade and modernise the school. I am pleased to report that the new building on the Gillies Street campus is almost complete and looks fantastic. We are also supporting St Patrick’s College by investing $2 million under the Non-government Schools Capital Fund for the construction of the new $13.2 million multipurpose centre. I look forward to welcoming the minister to Wendouree and having the opportunity to show him how we are delivering the Education State across Ballarat.