Page: 9101
Mr STEVEN PRINGLE (Hawkesbury) [12.20 p.m.]: I bring to the attention of the House and the Minister for Education and Training the impending sale of the historic Grose Wold Public School site and the potential loss of vital and valuable public open space, and a building that is part of the history and heritage of the Hawkesbury district. This matter has been raised directly with the Minister, by letter from Mr Chris Harwood of Grose Wold and by a question on notice from me last week. The two-acre block on which the school is sited was a gift from Sir Phillip Charley to the community in 1901 or 1902. Therefore, it should remain an asset of the community and not be sold off to the highest bidder in an apparent grab for cash by the Department of Education and Training.
The old original school building was moved to the current site in 1902 from its former position in Grose Vale. The building was constructed in about 1880—so it is a very historic building—as the South Kurrajong school, making this building one of the oldest in the Hawkesbury district. It is an extremely important and valuable historic asset. Currently the old school is under the jurisdiction of Chifley College, Mt Druitt. Chifley College no longer needs or wants the school site and has not used it for a few years. As a result, unfortunately, the buildings and the grounds have fallen into disrepair. Chifley College has applied to the Department of Education and Training to have the site sold. It appears that the sale has been approved by the department—shame!—and is currently in the process of being rubber stamped by the Government's Asset Management Committee.
I hope that is not the case. I am sure that the Government would not rubber stamp such an outrageous and plainly short-sighted proposal. The Minister needs to intervene in this process and stop the Asset Management Committee from making a major mistake. The local primary school, Grose View School, was formed in 1976 as an amalgamation of the small Grose Wold and Grose Vale schools. Currently it is straining at the seams with an annually increasing enrolment. It has an excellent reputation within the community. As Chifley College no longer wants or needs the site, and as Grose View School could use the site as a valuable adjunct to its fully utilised facilities, it seems obvious that the correct procedure would be to transfer control of the old school to the principal of Grose View School, Mr David Shuster.
With its spacious grounds, specialist ropes and teamwork building course already installed, the site could be used by a number of community groups such as scouts and guides, subject, of course, to public liability issues, which have not been addressed. There is a distinct lack of that type of venue in the district, and community groups would benefit greatly from use of such a facility. This is a community asset, not only a development site. The community needs that facility. I commend Mr Don Ezzy and Mrs M. Duffy from the Grose Vale Community Centre Inc., Mrs Judy Newland from the Hawkesbury Historical Society and, importantly, the staff and parents of Grose View School for their foresight and dedication to a local community issue. I hope the Minister for Education and Training listens to the people of Grose Vale, who need this local community facility. Do not sell it off: save it for the community.