Mr Pallas (Tarneit) —  Due to the Napthine government’s neglect, Tarneit  P-9 College  had to race against time to make sure its  portable classrooms  were in basically usable  form   for students who  were returning to  school  last week. Shadow education minister  the member for Monbulk, the member for Derrimut and I visited the school last Tuesday to see workers and teachers struggling to finish portable classrooms to a basic  standard  because  of  delays  in  their delivery and the desperate need to get them  in place. 

The classrooms  are unlikely  to be fully equipped  with  internet  and  computing facilities, books and  other  learning resources, and  the concreting of dirt walkways just has not been done. That  is hardly an environment in which children should be attempting to learn.

The Napthine government has already failed to commit to stage 2 capital works at Tarneit college. Now it has failed to deliver portable classrooms for  over  700 students.  This is typical of the government, which has left four schools across the  Wyndham area  waiting for  the next stage of capital works, not  to mention many older schools that desperately require capital investment after having been snubbed by this government for over three years now. This does not even touch on the government’s lack of investment in new schools.

With an average  of 74 babies born every  week in my electorate, it is estimated that  the  Wyndham area will require  an  average of one  to  two  schools to be constructed every year until 2031 to keep up with the pace.