Burraneer Bay Public School
Page: 2054
Mr KERR (Cronulla) [3.52 p.m.]: I refer to Burraneer Bay Public School, which is in my electorate. It has a proud history and will have a proud future. The education offered at that school is first rate and over the years many parents have sought to place their children in that school. That will continue. The commitment of the principal and staff of Burraneer Bay Public School is second to none. Nevertheless, they are entitled to do their job with adequate resources. I bring to the House some of the shortcomings in the infrastructure of that school. The demountable building that serves as a school hall does not accommodate the school. It does not even fit just the infants children or just the primary children who attend the school. The school library accommodates only 33 children and the school has a roll of 540. The facilities are cramped and there is insufficient display area for books. Nor is there cloak room storage.
All the teachers' resources are stored in the teachers' staffroom. The canteen is old, cramped and poorly ventilated. There is no adequate sheltered area for children to assemble when it is wet or extremely hot. The 30 female staff share one toilet located in the administration building, 50 metres from the infants classroom. Individual reading programs and special education programs are conducted under trees in the playground because no specialist or withdrawal rooms exist. Again, the quality of teaching provided by those programs is first rate. However, the teaching should be conducted with adequate facilities. No spare rooms are available for meetings. Executive offices are cramped and useless if more than three people need to meet.
The inadequate staffroom is also used as a video room, a resource room and a meeting room. There are no shade structures in the school. There are no adequate storage facilities for students, staff or resources. The administration area in the school is small, cramped, poorly laid out and unattractive. The signage of the school is old, unattractive and poorly located. The drainage at the school needs addressing. Drains are non-existent, overloaded or inappropriately located. On wet days the run-off on slopes is dangerous. I particularly draw the attention of the House to the electrical wiring. It is old and safety switches do not exist or do not work. Many classrooms have just one power point serving three computers and other appliances. In some instances the power points are poorly located—in one classroom beside the water tap. There are a number of other matters I could relate to the House.
Again, I underline the fact that this is a first-rate school and the education provided there is exceptionally good. I have been in correspondence with the Minister for some time in relation to the school but, as the Minister has just indicated, private members' statements provide a forum in which these matters can be brought to the attention of the House and the wider community, and I do so on that basis. I will continue to correspond with and bring these things to the attention of the Minister but I ask in the House that these matters be acted upon, particularly the electrical wiring. As a parent, I am sure the Minister would be worried about that.
Mr FACE (Charlestown—Minister for Gaming and Racing, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Hunter Development) [3.57 p.m.]: As requested by the honourable member, I shall refer the safety issue to the Minister for Education and Training.