Tuesday, 31 March 2026

 Nathan LAMBERT (Preston) (13:23): I rise on behalf of myself and the member for Northcote to recognise the contribution to our communities of Dr Sean Butler, who was appointed as the inaugural principal of Preston High in April 2018 and who led the school for the first seven years of its operation. Creating a new school on the old Preston Girls Secondary College site was something that Sean knew came with a great deal of opportunity but also a great deal of pressure. Many of our school leaders will acknowledge that they get through the year relying on the regular progression of established events, but Sean and his young team had none of that. Every decision was made from scratch, and every decision was a step into the unknown. In making those decisions they were guided right from the start by three core values: excellence, inclusion and community.

I was lucky enough to know Sean many years ago as an East Timor activist on the Melbourne University campus. While he has clearly gathered much wisdom and educational experience in the years since then, I think it is his personal, lifelong progressive values that have particularly shaped Preston High and, in drawing so many families to our area, also shaped the broader Preston community. We wish Sean and his family the best of luck with their next steps. We are very pleased to see he will be continuing to contribute to our great public education system, and we hope that in appointing a new principal the Department of Education recognise the importance of building upon the progressive culture that he and his inaugural team – including Jessica James, Rohan McCarthy, Sarah Blanchard and Laura Mitchell – have so successfully created at Preston High.