Tuesday, 14 May 2024

 Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (20:51): (892) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Education, and the action I seek from the minister is to find some extra funds, to make some additional back-end cuts in the Department of Education, and make sure his department can find some funding to upgrade the San Remo Primary School.

Imagine an old and worn-out school that is past its prime. It was moved to its current site in 1984, and it took three old buildings at the time. It had an addition of portables, and these portables are now out of date. Imagine it is not fit for purpose. Imagine too that in the lead-up to the 2022 election the member for Bass Jordan Crugnale made an election commitment, a promise that if elected the Labor government would build $5.3 million worth of a school upgrade. Imagine too that from this year to next year there is going to be an increase from 180 students to 225 students, so this is a school that is growing. It is a school that is disadvantaged. There is a huge expectation in that community to provide the fruition of that commitment. There was in the last budget some planning funding. There have been some master plans and designs, some projects and a tender, and the architect has been employed, so it is actually going down the road.

So you can also imagine, Premier and Minister for Education, the disappointment when there was no funding in this year’s budget – no funding for the commitment to stage 1. We heard recently that the education department has been able to make some efficiencies. We have heard of 233 cuts – cuts to services, and I will tell you the services. They were in communications. Does that surprise anybody? They were in project management. They were in IT – they had two IT teams in the education department, and they were able to amalgamate certain members and trim them off. This government has been able to find some efficiencies, so I am calling on the government and this minister to find some further efficiencies and fund the next stage of the San Remo Primary School.