Wednesday, 15 October 2025

 Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC) (14:24): The Allan Labor government’s Metro Tunnel will transform Melbourne, just like the Allan Labor government has transformed our education system. On this side of the house we know that physical infrastructure is just as important as social infrastructure. Next year we will open up our 100th brand new school, but we are also investing in the physical infrastructure around those 100 schools. From February next year a student living in the Sunbury electorate, the Footscray electorate or the Laverton electorate will be able to get on the train and have a turn-up-and-go service that goes straight to the State Library to do some study and take a selfie at the iconic La Trobe Reading Room. In the Melbourne electorate, the new Arden station – or, as I like to call it, Shinboner station – in one of the fastest growing areas in Melbourne, and the new Parkville station mean students from Dandenong and Pakenham will get one train all the way to Melbourne University.

There has been a new shadow minister appointed for education, and I wish the member for Kew all the very best. I am very thankful to the Leader of the House for all the extra sitting days to get through all the IPA articles that the new shadow minister has written – Mr Mulholland in the other place. I am just going back to 2019. He actually said, ‘worryingly, Labor would … intervene to raise the wages of early childhood educators’. I think I need to remind the new Shadow Minister for Education that 90 per cent of a child’s brain is developed in pre-prep. Our early childhood educators have the most important job in the world raising our young people and making sure their brain development prepares them for primary school and secondary school. I know our educators do everything they need to to make sure of that. In the Education State we will always support our teachers and advocate on their behalf, not call for less wages for them.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Member for Brighton, this is your last warning. The Premier will come to order.