Thursday, 9 February 2023

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (12:50): (18) My question is for the Minister for Education. Late last year I had the pleasure of visiting Castlemaine Primary School, a wonderful school in my electorate with an enrolment of 170 students. During a tour of the school I was able to inspect the school’s playground and equipment, which I found to be in appalling condition. Installed in approximately 2005 the play equipment is beyond its life span, with the slide and fireman’s pole having been removed due to safety concerns. Some of the playground supports are either rotting or splitting at the base. There is no soft-fall area, and many of the footholds on the rock wall have either been removed or are so loose they spin around. Even the school’s netball court is unsafe, with a large crack in the surface a hazard for students. The playground needs to be replaced, and every grant application submitted by the school over the last few years has been unsuccessful. Will the minister provide a funding grant to replace the playground and play equipment at Castlemaine Primary School?