Thursday, 30 May 2024

 Jess WILSON (Kew) (17:24): (695) My adjournment is to the Minister for Education, and the action I am seeking is an exemption from the Labor government’s payroll tax for Cornish College. Cornish College is a unique and relatively new school. Based in Bangholme, it enrolled its first students in 2012. Previously the site on which Cornish College sits was a campus of St Leonard’s College. When that school indicated its intention to close and sell the land a small group of very determined parents and teachers were the driving force in establishing the new school. Getting a school set up is no small matter. The school had to accrue significant debt at the start to be able to operate. Since 2012 the school has slowly worked its way into achieving the most modest financial reserve. But let us be clear: that small surplus is not a profit, despite what those opposite might think. It is money that will be reinvested in the school and service the school’s borrowings. As the member for Mordialloc wrote to the Treasurer, Cornish College does not have the financial reserves to meet this tax and meeting their payroll obligations will be detrimental to the school community, the educational programs on offer and the welfare needs of their students.

I want to reflect on the words about the need for welfare for their students. If you talk to any teacher or any principal today, they will tell you the same story: students are more anxious and battle with greater mental health complexities than the generations before them. Cornish College’s unique approach is deeply popular with its students and community. Cornish explicitly seek to engage the minds of their students by opening their hearts and nurturing their wellbeing. They seek to foster a holistic view of a sustainable world. I was lucky enough to visit Cornish recently to see what this looks like in practice. The school is immersed in the natural world. Students can join in regular meditative practices. Cornish has 1.2 full-time equivalent psychologists on staff to support their students. They run a community wellbeing series, which creates a space for conversations with young people about important wellbeing matters. Recent topics include vaping and the impact of pornography on young people. Their commitment to student wellbeing is at the heart of the school, but these programs are all at serious risk due to Labor’s schools tax.

These programs, the ones that are not strictly academic, will be the first that will have to be reduced or removed altogether. Families will also have to pay more to send their children to Cornish College as a result of Labor’s schools tax. Cornish College will have no choice but to increase fees. Cornish families, like most families that send their children to independent schools, scrimp and save to get their kids there. I understand that the minister recently suggested that Cornish should pay the tax because they have a 100-acre campus. Well, I suggest the minister take time to review Cornish’s financial position to actually understand how this tax will impact them, rather than making flippant remarks about their campus size. The coalition will always support the diversity and vibrancy of our independent schools because we value school choice for parents. I call on the minister to exempt Cornish College from Labor’s independent schools tax.