Thursday, 31 October 2024

Ministers statements: education funding

Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for Medical Research) (14:41): I am delighted to update the house on how the Allan Labor government is building schools in great communities right across our state – $36 billion invested by our government in education and $17 billion in infrastructure. That has created more than 2200 places right across our state, transforming communities by transforming education and facilities – Best Start, Best Life, primary school, secondary, and post year 12. We plan and we invest.

When they were last in office Fishermans Bend, the largest renewal project in the nation, was planned without one school, without one kindergarten and without a secondary school. We in the Allan Labor government are building all three. Let us go to the last election. They promised only four schools to be built at the last election. But it gets better: ‘Napthine promises 3D printers for every government school’. We are going to build schools; they were going to print them.

On this side of the chamber we will always invest in education. The last time they were in office they never planned and they never bought any land, but they cut Reading Recovery, they cut Free Fruit Friday and they cut the education maintenance allowance. Under our government, education is every person’s ticket to having a life of prosperity. It is transformational, every investment we make in education. We make sure every student gets to live their first and best life, and we will keep investing in education. While there is a wall of noise, we will keep focusing on our teachers and our school students.