Tuesday, 14 May 2024

Adjournment

Hawthorn electorate schools

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (19:08): (651) My adjournment matter tonight is for the Minister for Education. The action I seek is for the minister to come out to both Glenferrie Primary School and Canterbury Primary School to speak with the school leadership about much-needed funds for school rectification works. These are important schools in my electorate of Hawthorn, two vital centres of learning that received no funding in this year’s state budget.

As I have said in the past, education empowers and transforms people into their best selves. Glenferrie Primary was the school I sent my own daughters to. It is a wonderful and charming school, educating the young minds of Hawthorn since the 1870s. The same can be said for Canterbury Primary School on the eastern side of the Hawthorn electorate. It was first built in 1908 and has educated the students and families of Canterbury for generations. Both schools have a combined 200 years of history between them. However, for both schools to continue for another hundred years they need urgent funding for their facilities.

Both schools suffer from leaks in the ceiling, rotting wood, cracks in the walls and corrosion. In the Education State, how can this be? The Victorian School Building Authority reviewed the condition of Glenferrie Primary School in 2018. It identified 66 significant defects, including works that were required to address health and safety risks. They also raised concerns regarding the structural integrity of the original schoolhouse, flagging that an investigation by a structural engineer is required. Speaking at Canterbury Primary School, students are being exposed to damp classrooms; facilities are waterlogged. Again, the VSBA has known about these concerns since 2021. Their report identified 137 significant defects, including roof leaks in six buildings. How is it fair that six years on these school facilities are still in a decaying state?

All Victorian students deserve safe and fit-for-purpose learning environments. The Allan Labor government in this year’s budget has once again failed Victorian families and students. In the Education State Glenferrie Primary and Canterbury Primary should not be forgotten by this state government. The students at these schools deserve better. Families, teachers and the Hawthorn community deserve better. They should not pay the price because the Allan Labor government cannot manage money.