Thursday, 14 November 2024

North-Eastern Metropolitan Region schools

Richard WELCH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (18:41): (1292) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Education. It is probably a bad idea to do any kind of public speaking when you are in a bad mood or when you are a bit angry, and I am in a bad mood. It is because of the bills that have passed this house today that have been under debate, in particular two instances where the government has had absolutely no hesitation in throwing its weight around, overriding the will of communities, using the full force of government to force through whatever it wanted, whether it was the Suburban Rail Loop or activity centres or whether, as we have just heard in the last debate, it was the excesses of lockdowns and how no safeguards were put in place for that.

Given that the government has got a propensity to do these things and has got no hesitation in doing these things when it is trampling over other people’s rights, I have got a request that it does something in education, because in my electorate, particularly within the electorate of Glen Waverley, I have gone around maybe two dozen schools and I think the vast majority, if not all of them, have buildings that are leaking, toilets that stink, playgrounds that are unfit for use and principals who are at the end of their tether, trying to find the money to maintain or maybe self-fund a playground or a STEM centre. None of it is coming from the department. We have got parent–teacher organisations and school councils at the end of their tether, trying to make things work. We have got teachers leaving the area because the work conditions are appalling.

My action for the minister is: how about you come down to Glen Waverley? How about you use the powers of your office to push aside the pathetic and useless Victorian School Building Authority, do an assessment of the infrastructure needed in those schools and actually do some of that pushing around there so that you get the funding that schools in my community need?