Wednesday, 30 October 2019

Warrandyte electorate schools

Mr R SMITH (Warrandyte) (09:43): I would like to congratulate Warranwood Primary School for another fantastic Spring Fair held on Saturday, 19 October. It was great to attend and see the school and wider community come together with entertainment throughout the day, including rides for the kids, crafts and cakes for purchase and the ever-popular wine stall for the adults. Congratulations to principal Shane Harrop, staff and the army of volunteers for their efforts on another successful Spring Fair.

I was also pleased to attend the celebrations for the 60th birthday of Beverley Hills Primary School. The school put on a fantastic twilight fair showcasing the school’s rich multicultural community. Congratulations to principal Jennifer Watson and the whole school community for a fantastic afternoon. Happy birthday, Beverley Hills Primary School.

It is, however, unfortunate that both Warranwood Primary School and Beverley Hills Primary School did not receive any funding in the 2019–20 planned maintenance funding. For the 13 state schools in the Warrandyte electorate, $50 000 worth of funding was allocated in total to those 13 schools. Schools in my electorate, such as Beverly Hills Primary School and indeed Warrandyte High School, need much more substantial capital investment, as I have supported many times in this place. Unfortunately this is a point that continues to fall on the deaf ears of a government which has refused to allocate any substantial funding to schools in my electorate consistently over five successive budgets. The lack of support for the schools in my area from this government and from this politically driven minister show once again that the Education State slogan is just an empty slogan.