Mr PALLAS (Tarneit) —  I  rise  to  raise  concern about the disastrous and continuing  deteriorating  state of capital  works in my  electorate of Tarneit. This has been due to a reduced effort by  the current  government in  allocating capital works funding for  schools.  I  note that the Minister for Education has removed over  $1 billion  from schools capital works in the last  budget, and  a community such as mine,  which  has grown by over  8  per cent per annum,  needs provision for new schools and refurbishment of existing schools. I note that the previous Labor government  built  new  schools  and  substantially  invested  in upgrading schools in my electorate. Wyndham City Council has estimated that over the  next  five  years this community will need 26 new  schools  to  accommodate growth.

I  also wish to raise  the continuing uncertainty  around  Galvin Park Secondary College. Due  to  rain inundation and  mould  contamination most of  the  school students are  accommodated  in  makeshift  demountable  buildings.  Galvin  Park Secondary College needs a complete rebuild, not a bandaid  fix,  to  assure  the community  a  proper education,  and  an early commitment  from  the minister is essential.

Similarly  Werribee  Secondary College received $12 million  from  the  previous government and was fast-tracked  to receive the remaining $6 million to complete works, but despite the fact that a member for Western Metropolitan Region in the Legislative  Council indicated to the local media prior to the election that the funds needed  to  be  allocated  immediately, we still have not seen any funding allocated.

See Tim’s speech in Hansard here.