Tuesday, 3 March 2020

Ministers statements: Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund

Mr MERLINO (Monbulk—Minister for Education) (12:40): This year has been another milestone year in education. I am delighted to update the house on the rollout of the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund. There is significant demand for this program: so far this year 160 000 applications and a total over the last five years of over 1 million. So this year there are more than 160 000 opportunities for our kids to attend school camps or trips, swimming and school-organised sports programs, outdoor education programs, excursions and incursions. The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund is enabling literally tens of thousands of our most vulnerable kids to share in experiences that otherwise would not be available to them. It is providing for high-achieving students to participate in school-run academic camps, supporting young leaders to attend our Alpine School camps program, supporting young sports stars in attending School Sport Victoria championships on the path of elite sport and supporting aspiring young musicians to attend music camps and concerts. There are thousands of examples across every member’s electorate and every single government secondary school and primary school, only made possible by the Andrews Labor government’s more than $355 million investment in the program.

We all know how this program came about. We all know.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr MERLINO: They do not like being reminded about it, but it was to fill the void of the former Liberal government cutting the education maintenance allowance. It does not matter who is sitting in the Leader of the Opposition’s chair—and there has been plenty of speculation—if the Liberals ever got into government, they would cut the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund.

Mr Battin: On a point of order, Speaker, I have got a few questions that have been unanswered and I would like to just list them off: 1794, 1793, 1525, 1526, 1527, 1528, 1529, 1530, 1531, 1532, 1533, 1534, 1535, 1536, 1537, 1538, 1539, 1540, 1541, 1542, 1543, 1544, 1545, 1546, 1547, 1548, 1549, 1550, 1551, 1552, 1553, 1554, 1555, 1556, 1557, 1558, 1559, 1560, 1561, 1562, 1563, 1564, 1565, 1566, 1567, 1568, 1569, 1570, 1571, 1572, 1573, 1574, 1575, 1576, 1577, 1578, 1579, 1580, 1581, 1582, 1583, 1584, 1585, 1586, 1587, 1589, 1590, 1591, 1592, 1593—

Ms Green interjected.

Mr Battin: I know the member for Yan Yean thinks this is pretty funny, but these are questions from my constituents who have been asking and your government fails to answer: 1594, 1595, 1596, 1597, 1598, 1599, 1600, 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604, 1605, 1606, 1607, 1608, 1520, 1522, 1506, 1507, 1508, 1509, 1510, 1511, 1512, 1513, 1514, 1515, 1516, 1517, 1496, 1497, 1499, 1501, 1502, 1504 and 1506. And I will make a promise to you, Speaker: I will shorten the list if this government promises to answer them for me and let my constituents know why they are failing to acknowledge these questions.

The SPEAKER: Order! I thank the member for Gembrook for raising those items. We will follow the matters up.