Tuesday, 19 March 2024

Ministers statements: schools funding

Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for Medical Research) (14:21): It is my honour to update the house on how the Allan Labor government is building the Education State right around Victoria and indeed making schools more sustainable than ever before. Our record speaks for itself: $30 billion invested over nine years, and we have built more schools than any other state. We are growing the teacher workforce at twice the national average, and our own students are top of the NAPLAN class.

It has been very busy, and I have been back to the Lincraft store with many of my colleagues lately to get on with building more schools and opening them. I joined the Premier, the member for Tarneit more recently, the member for Kororoit, the member for Laverton, the member for Melton and the member for Pakenham. I also was out in Clyde North in the member for Berwick’s patch. I did not invite him, because he was too busy on his calculator and his Excel spreadsheet and he could not come to the school.

We are getting on with making sure our schools are more modern and sustainable than ever before. Joining the Minister for Climate Action, we are making sure that our schools have solar, that they are green. We are even going around making sure that all of our schools, no matter where they are – the member for Ripon is not here –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Berwick will leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Berwick withdrew from the chamber.

Ben CARROLL: The member for Ripon is not here, but I know the Leader of the Opposition’s chief of staff will be very proud of what we have been able to do, putting solar panels on the local school there. Whether it is Beaufort Secondary College, Point Cook secondary college or Lara Secondary College, we are making sure that all of our schools are invested in and also that all of the students are working and studying in the most important environment there can be.

We are also making sure that we are providing more construction jobs through our school build but also some 350 ongoing jobs, whether it is principals, teachers or business managers. We are getting on with it. We are very focused on making sure our schools are greener than ever before, while those opposite are focused on greener pastures.