MORUYA HIGH SCHOOL MULTIPURPOSE HALL
Mr SMITH (Bega) [6.1]: I congratulate the schools in the electorate of Bega for the wonderful work they have done in promoting Education Week. It is unfortunate that Parliament was sitting in this period. However, I took the opportunity on Monday to visit Pambula for the formal opening of Education Week, and my wife has been busy this week visiting eight to 10 of the schools in the cluster. Moruya High School needs a multipurpose hall. Moruya is a reasonably small town on the far South Coast with a population of about 3,000 people. I believe the high school was built in 1970. New schools and multipurpose halls have been established at Batemans Bay and Narooma, but Moruya High School does not have a multipurpose hall. Over the past four or five years that school has put a great deal of effort into lobbying for the construction of such a hall. In 1989 the Minister for Education at that time said that the State Government would enter into a joint program with the high school and Eurobodalla Shire Council to build a multipurpose hall. The State Government and the school would each provide 45 per cent of the cost - which was estimated by the shire to be $1.2 million - and the community would provide 10 per cent. It is not feasible for a community of only 3,000 people to pay 10 per cent of the costs, even though this sort of program is being successfully implemented in other areas. Most areas around Moruya have large populations which would be able to cope with this type of program.
At present the only large indoor area at the school is a canteen-cum-gymnasium. It is nowhere near large enough to hold assemblies or drama presentations. The curriculum now requires schools to have multipurpose halls. Even though about 30 high schools throughout the State still do not have multipurpose halls, such halls are being built. I take this opportunity to impress upon the Minister that Moruya High School and the parents and citizens association have waited long enough. I impress upon her, as I did only a week ago when I had a conference with her, that a multipurpose hall should be built at Moruya High School as soon as possible. About a week ago I attended a meeting of the association. I commend the people who attended that meeting for the constructive and courteous manner in which I was received. At that meeting a decision was made to raise funds. The first raffle will be for a motor car, which is a big risk for the association. I certainly hope it makes a great deal of money from the raffle. However, raising the amount of money required for the construction of a multipurpose hall will take a long time. I believe the association will need more assistance from the Department of School Education than it is being provided at present. A decision was also made at that meeting to seek a conference with the Minister, for which I am now negotiating. Moruya High School is now due for a multipurpose hall.