Thursday, 17 August 2023

North-Eastern Metropolitan Region

Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:41): (357) My question is to the Minister for Education. Minister, Streeton Primary School in my region, like thousands of schools around Victoria, is in urgent need of repairs. I have followed Streeton Primary School council’s efforts to secure these repairs since I visited the school in April and spoke with parents from the school council. After many months of back-and-forth with the department and significant disruption for students and staff in the meantime, Streeton has finally been approved for some limited funding, and yet the saga continues. The Victorian School Building Authority has only opted for the bare minimum. Rather than a full carpet replacement, a number of classrooms will be stuck with the worn, stained carpet that was laid down 15-odd years ago. Minister, it goes without saying that in Victoria parents should not have to take on the responsibility of advocating for very basic repairs for their children’s schools. Given that the VSBA has refused to budge on this matter, will you advocate to the department for Streeton Primary to receive a full replacement of carpet across all three blocks?