Wednesday, 3 December 2025

 Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (15:43): My question is for the Minister for Education. Spensley Street Primary School in Clifton Hill is in urgent need of major upgrades. In the upstairs and the downstairs toilets the flooring, the ventilation, the urinals and the cubicles are in such a state that some students actually refuse to use them. There is a hole in the roof, moss grows from underneath the tiles and the teachers use a plunger just to keep the toilets operational. Their learning spaces need significant structural and acoustic improvements, and they need renewed administration, first aid and collaboration areas to ensure that there is a safe, inclusive and fit-for-purpose environment for students and staff. Minister, will you fund these essential upgrades at Spensley Street Primary School?

 Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC) (15:44): Can I thank the member for Richmond for her question on a day when the Education State was handed not only the best NAPLAN results in the nation but the best NAPLAN results in Victoria’s history. In 18 of the 20 measures Victoria is on top, and that is what happens with long-term investment in people, in teachers and in infrastructure. In relation to Spensley Street Primary, I can assure the member that we fund all our schools right across the board. In fact we are going to be the first government that will fund 100 brand new schools. One in two schools built in Australia is built right here in Victoria, and we also know there are more than 2000 upgrades right across our state. I will continue to fund all schools and make sure, no matter the postcode, that every student gets to strive and make the best opportunity they can through a world-class education under the Allan Labor government.

 Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (15:45): I appreciate the minister’s response, but, to be honest, Spensley Street Primary has been neglected in the government’s funding program for decades. The school has applied through all the grant channels available. Parents and teachers have had to fundraise for basic maintenance and urgent repairs themselves, including a leaking septic tank. This is no substitute for proper investment by the School Building Authority. Given the long-overdue upgrades, the school council has invited the minister to visit and see the conditions of the facilities firsthand, so my question is: Minister, will you accept the school council’s invitation and visit Spensley Street Primary School yourself?

 Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC) (15:45): I will accept the school council’s invitation. It would be an honour to go and visit the school and see firsthand the Allan Labor government’s reforms to teaching instruction, to the work we are doing in mandating systematic phonics, to also look at the inclusive playground we have funded at the school and to make sure too that those teachers there know that under a Labor government you will always get investment. I know that school and that community very well, and I look forward to going back out there again.