Wednesday, 1 November 2023

 Paul MERCURIO (Hastings) (19:12): (416) I direct my adjournment debate to the Minister for Education, and the action I seek is for the minister to come down to my electorate of Hastings at the beginning of the new school term next year to attend a principals morning tea. I have had the pleasure of holding principals morning teas at my office in Somerville over the last couple of months. We have held three so far and have another two planned before the end of the year.

I invite five or six principals from a range of local government and non-government schools from around my electorate to talk about things that matter to them. We sit down over tea and coffee and homemade cake. So far I have made my Sicilian lemon cake, I have made my Tim Tam cheesecake and I have made my sticky date pudding, and I must say they literally all went down very well. I have been really pleased with how these meetings have gone. Usually the principals know of each other, but some have never actually met or ever had the chance to chat over a cuppa. It is a great opportunity for the principals to share some of their frustrations about the difficulties they have and the challenges they share whilst working so hard to do the very best for each and every one of their students. It is also a great opportunity to share and talk about what is happening within their schools and within their communities. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to hear about each of their needs and to share the opportunity to talk about possible solutions. By far the best thing is seeing the principals connect with each other in a way they have not before and share insights and discoveries that others may not have considered. When they leave I know they will remain connected, and that is a great thing for them, their students and their communities. I look forward to the minister’s visit, and if he would like to let me know what cake he would like me to bake on the day, I would be very happy to do so.