Wednesday, 31 July 2024

 Jacinta ERMACORA (Western Victoria) (09:57): Last week I visited Portland Bay School. It is a special developmental school serving communities in the south-west of our state. I was keen to see how the Allan Labor government’s Glasses for Kids program is helping some of the state’s most vulnerable children. It was an absolute pleasure to tour the school with acting principal Charlotte Elliott. As we visited each of the classrooms, the children were calm – almost a gentle school atmosphere, with the children keen to tell me about what they had been doing on that day. On average 30 per cent of children tested have some kind of vision impairment. On the day that I visited, of the 10 that had been done so far six had been identified as needing glasses. No-one should fall behind at school because they cannot see properly. This program alone will prevent thousands of children in Victoria from falling behind and from vision impairment. I just want to say how proud I am of the Labor government for also providing a breakfast club and the $400 school saving bonus as well across all of the schools. This is what Labor does, and I am very proud to be Labor.