Thursday, 31 October 2024

 Tom McINTOSH (Eastern Victoria) (12:49): (1208) My question is to the Minister for Education in the other place. Minister, how is the Victorian government supporting students in Eastern Victoria to learn Indonesian? Indonesia is one of Australia’s most important regional partners, with over 1 million Australians visiting the country each year. Recently Scotch College became the latest school to suspend the teaching of Bahasa Indonesia, shutting off opportunities for students to navigate employment as Asian countries become increasingly important to Australia’s economy. In Eastern Victoria there are over 25 schools that teach Indonesian, including Mount Eliza Secondary, Sale College, and Fish Creek and District Primary School. There have also been a number of cross-cultural exchanges between Indonesia and Gippsland, with Indonesian land managers and journalists visiting the region to learn more about their respective fields. I was lucky enough to learn Indonesian when I was at school, and with Asia being so important to Australia’s future, students in eastern Victoria should get the same chance that I did to learn this amazing language.