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- 4 December 2003
Gunnedah South Public School Hall
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Mr PETER DRAPER (Tamworth) [12.28 p.m.]: I move:
That this House calls on the Minister for Education and Training to advise when work will commence on the Gunnedah South Public School hall.
I raised this issue on 30 April in the Parliament. While it has taken some time to come to the fore, the issue certainly has not diminished one little bit. I have just come back from the launch of the Country Music Awards at the Opera House.
Mr Alan Ashton: Did you win one?
Mr PETER DRAPER: I was in the running. It was very pleasing to see the Premier there to launch the awards, because the Government recognises the contribution that country music makes to our society. But it is a great pity that the Government does not recognise the importance of a hall for the Gunnedah South Public School community. They have been waiting patiently for more than a decade now for the construction of a hall that has been promised them time and time again. With more than 570 students, the Gunnedah South Public School is now the largest school in this State without an assembly hall. I am once again raising the issue in Parliament because I want the school community to have certainty about the date of construction for this desperately needed facility. Gunnedah South Public School has beautiful playgrounds, striking ovals and well-tended trees and gardens. It has a dedicated and dynamic staff, and their enthusiasm for the education of children who attend the school is obvious.
The entire school community participates in school activities but the school does not have the one basic facility that most schools take for granted—a hall. For the past decade school assemblies have been held outside, where students are exposed to the elements. When the weather is inclement the only covered area available for use is the school library but, unfortunately, it is not large enough to accommodate all the students, and some assemblies have to be split. In addition, every time the library is used for assembly functions, debates and other activities that would normally take place in a school hall, all the tables, chairs and shelves of books must be stacked and put to the side. It is a ridiculous situation.
During the years of the former Coalition Government, Gunnedah South Public School was part of the north-west education region. The region had a priority list of schools requiring halls, and over the years Gunnedah South Public School slowly moved until it was the number one priority of the properties division. It was the clear understanding—and a straightforward one—that when the next funds became available Gunnedah South Public School would be the first school in the north-west to have a new hall constructed. Along with the change of government to Labor came the inevitable departmental restructure. The ground rules were changed and no longer is there an official priority list for projects such as this.
Gunnedah South Public School is no longer a priority on a list and nobody within the school community has any idea where they stand. For many years the Gunnedah South school community has actively pursued this project. It has raised funds in excess of $90,000 to assist with the construction of the hall. Former Ministers for Education and Training have made public commitments to construct the school hall. One commitment was given in this very Chamber on 16 October 2001 when my predecessor, Tony Windsor, delivered his valedictory speech. When Mr Windsor questioned approval for the Gunnedah South Public School hall project, the then Minister for Education and Training, now the honourable Speaker of this House, interjected, "It will be done." The school community was overjoyed that the long-awaited promise to provide a hall would finally be a reality.
Since that commitment two State budgets have been handed down and not one cent has been allocated for the construction of the hall. Although no finances have been allocated, architects from the Department of Public Works and Services, as well as property officers from the Department of Education and Training, met early in 2002 on site at the school to finetune the siting and construction details for this elusive hall. The school community was led to believe that funding would be allocated in the 2002-03 State Budget, but it was not forthcoming. Recently the Deputy Premier, in his role as Minister for Education and Training, said:
A new $1.7 million communal hall will be built at Gunnedah South Public School … When completed the project will include a new hall, canteen and covered outdoor learning area.
Although I welcome this approval from the Minister, he has merely reiterated what his predecessors have said for the past decade, and the school community is sick of hearing that the hall will now be considered along with other priorities as part of the Government's capital works program. These comments are extremely disappointing and do nothing to give the Gunnedah South Public School community any hope that they are one iota closer to seeing the first brick laid. I note with great interest a fax from the Minister to Greg Traynor, the Secretary of the Gunnedah South Public School Parents and Citizens Association, dated 24 September. However, the document was only faxed to Mr Traynor on Monday 10 November, the day before I was originally scheduled to speak on the motion. In the fax the Minister said, "funding will be provided during the current term of the Government".
I welcome that commitment from the Minister but, once again, the only thing lacking is a date. The school community has heard these promises many times before and they have been disappointed many times. I urge the Minister to stop the rhetoric about how the funding will be considered in the context of future capital works priorities. I urge him to listen to the pleas of the school community, consider the children, who are still being disadvantaged by the lack of this facility, and give some certainty to the school community by announcing a firm commitment and an actual commencement date for the project.
Muswellbrook South Public School is not in my electorate but it falls within the education district of Tamworth. This school has a student population of slightly more than 430 and its school hall was constructed just over 12 months ago, yet Gunnedah South Public School, which has a pupil enrolment of more than 570, is still waiting for a concrete commitment from the Government. Even Boggabri Public School, which has a student population of only 98, has a hall. Newling Public School, a significantly smaller school in the electorate of Northern Tablelands, has received a commitment from the Government for the construction of a school hall, yet Gunnedah South does not have a similar commitment.
Why are Gunnedah South children continually being disadvantaged? What have they done wrong to be so savagely cut from the Government's agenda, despite continued pleas from prominent people within the community—the school body, parents and citizens association, parents, and children. The community cannot do anything more active than physically raising more than $90,000 to assist the Government with the construction of the hall. This request is not unreasonable. Students should not be continually denied a basic facility that the vast majority of schools in this State take for granted. If the community were given a firm date for construction, I have no doubt that the school community and the wider Gunnedah community would rally behind this project once again with renewed vigour and put more money on the table. They would actively fundraise if that were the impetus needed by the Government to give a commitment for the construction of the school hall.
In 2005 Gunnedah South Public School will celebrate 50 years of public education, and that would be an appropriate time for the new hall to be opened. I urge the Minister to consider the historic significance of 50 years of public education at Gunnedah South Public School and acknowledge the contributions made by the many teachers and graduates, as well as their present contributions to the social fabric of the Gunnedah community. I plead with the Minister to favourably consider the pleas of the community for funding to construct the hall. The school has been waiting for many years and it has been severely disadvantaged. It is time the Minister listened to their entreaties and gave a concrete date for the construction of the hall.
Mr TONY STEWART (Bankstown—Parliamentary Secretary) [12.37 p.m.]: I move:
That the motion be amended by omitting all words after "That" with a view to inserting instead "this House notes that the Government has announced a new $1.7 million school hall for Gunnedah South Public School which will be built during this term of office.
I thank the honourable member for Tamworth for raising this matter and I acknowledge his keen interest in education in his electorate. The Government's spending on Education and Training now stands at a record $8.7 billion, a 50 per cent increase on what was spent when Labor came to office in 1995. Our public schools lead the world in literacy, numeracy and science, and we should be proud of that. Our world-class system is supported by more than $1 billion in capital works expenditure over our third term of government—another record. Over the next four years the Government will spend $329 million to reduce class sizes in the first three years of school. That major achievement will have a profound impact on the future of young people. This major election commitment will benefit kindergarten, year 1 and year 2 students across rural, regional, and metropolitan schools alike. Recently, 670 schools received a $34 million funding package to carry out improvements to enhance their overall facilities.
Gunnedah South is a large primary school that has a current student enrolment of 576. On 1 May the Minister for Education and Training announced that a $1.7 million hall would be built at Gunnedah South Public School. This is a firm commitment to be delivered in our third term of government. When completed, the $1.7 million project will include a new state-of-the-art hall, a canteen and a covered outdoor learning area. Planning work is now being undertaken for the development of this new facility. The department is consulting with the school community in this planning phase, but it takes time. I am fortunate to have a new school hall planned for Bankstown Public School, which is in my electorate, for about the same cost. But it has taken some time for the planning and consultation process to get it right so that the school has genuine ownership of the finished product.
The Government is committed to providing our students with quality learning environments It has allocated nearly $22,000 for the replacement of floor coverings at the school. As the honourable member would be aware, the State budget was handed down last June. The budget is subject to deliberations by the budget committee, and it is not possible to pre-empt what may be included as capital works projects in next year's budget. The Minister for Education and Training will advise honourable members as soon as decisions are made. He looks forward to visiting Gunnedah and turning the first sod during this term. I am sure Gunnedah South Public School will have a great facility for our kids today and for the future. The Government is about investing in our future. I commend the amendment to the House.
Mrs JILLIAN SKINNER (North Shore) [12.41 p.m.]: I support the honourable member for Tamworth, who advises me that he is happy with the amendment. He regards it as a win, for which I am very pleased. The school community of Gunnedah South has been waiting a very long time for a school hall. School funding is one of the things that encouraged me to become involved in politics in the first place. I was a member of the parents and citizens at Neutral Bay Public School for nine years. From as early as 1979 the parents raised money and agitated for a school hall, and in 1994 I had the great privilege of opening the school hall, which is an indication of how long it takes to get these things off the ground when the government is intransigent, which is what has happened in this case.
Mr Tony Stewart: That's unfair, particularly with the amount of work we have done in your electorate.
Mrs JILLIAN SKINNER: No, it is not unfair. I am sure the honourable member for Bankstown is strenuously trying to defend his Government, but the truth is that Gunnedah South was on the top of the priority list for capital works in 1995 and the current Government took it off the list. It is only now that the Government has made a commitment to put it back on the list sometime in the next four years, which does not mean it will happen next year. I assure the students, teachers and parents of the school at Gunnedah South, the broader community, and the honourable member for Tamworth that I will lend my weight to any pressure they need to apply to ensure that the money for the hall is allocated in the budget. Prior to the last election the Coalition promised to allocate the money for the building. I note that the honourable member for Tamworth has acknowledged the friendliness and success of the school, its wonderful teachers, and its supportive parents. It is in a lovely setting, as one would expect in that part of the world.
It is sheer neglect on the part of the Government that a school with a student population of more than 500 does not have a hall. The school should not have had to wait this long and it certainly should not have to wait another four years. The money should have been allocated in this year's budget. If the Government is really committed to building the hall, the school should not have to wait until 2006. The students of Gunnedah South deserve better. All members in this Chamber—and I refer particularly to the crossbenchers—should consider the capital works and maintenance requirements of their schools. The Auditor-General's report released today reveals a backlog of $124 million worth of maintenance, which is why we have so many reports of leaky roofs, blocked gutters and drains, et cetera. The Government must make a much bigger commitment to the maintenance of our schools.
To avoid schools being given false hope, honourable members should support the schools asset register bill, which I introduced. The bill would require the Government to establish a register of all schools, in which it would provide details of forward planning, including funding, as to when buildings will be erected or upgraded. School communities would be satisfied if they at least knew when the Government was going to do something. But in this case, and in so many others, false hopes have been raised because of commitments made but not met.
The honourable member for Tamworth stated that the previous member for Tamworth was told in 2000 by the then Minister for Education and Training that the school hall would be built. It is possible that it will not be built until 2006. I join with the honourable member for Tamworth and the school community in continuing to lobby to ensure that funding for the school hall will be provided in next year's budget. During the last election campaign the Coalition committed $1.7 million to enable the school hall to be built this year.
Mr ALAN ASHTON (East Hills) [12.46 p.m.]: I support the amendment moved by the Parliamentary Secretary. I congratulate the honourable member for Tamworth on his motion. It highlights the hiatus between the long period of political survival in the seat of Tamworth by Tony Windsor and the previous member for Tamworth. Tony Windsor did very well, particularly out of the Labor State Government—he may have done reasonably well out of the Coalition Government—because he was an Independent and he continually exerted pressure to achieve his goals. If the Gunnedah South Public School has suffered at all in the past 15 months, it was probably because the member for Tamworth—a member of the National Party—did not lobby for the hall at all. It has probably been back on the political agenda since the current honourable member for Tamworth was elected in March. I congratulate the honourable member for Tamworth on the terms of his motion:
This House calls on the Minister for Education and Training to advise when work will commence on the Gunnedah South Public School.
His approach is much smarter than that of Opposition members, who would normally condemn the State Government for not doing something immediately, last week, or last year, even though they would not have done it when they were in Government. He has kept the lines of communication with the Government open in an attempt to improve the conditions at Gunnedah South Public School. More than 500 is a large number of students at a primary school. Obviously they deserve the very best facilities they can get. As the honourable member for Bankstown stated, schools in his electorate will receive extra funding, but many schools do not have that many students. Unfortunately, maintenance has to continue. Many facilities, even in small schools, have to be improved. There is no doubt that there is a good case for carrying out works in a large school. The amendment moved by the Parliamentary Secretary is:
This House notes that the Government has announced a new $1.7 million school hall for Gunnedah South Public School which will be built during this term of office.
During the budget debate honourable members spoke about how much money would be spent in the Education budget in the next financial year. But it is important to realise that the Minister for Education and Training made a firm commitment in his announcement on 1 May that this $1.7 million hall would be delivered in our third term of government. The honourable member for Tamworth wants the school hall to be provided as soon as possible, and for work to begin after Christmas. However, all honourable members know that budgetary processes take a little longer than that, especially when $1.7 million is involved. The completed project will include a hall. The electorate of East Hills was established in 1952 and some schools there do not have a school hall, a permanent canteen—some schools have a canteen in a demountable building—or a covered outdoor learning area. In my electorate the school communities have to fund half the cost of a covered outdoor learning area and apply for a grant for the remainder. I have helped school communities in my electorate run trivia nights to raise funds for facilities.
If I could get a commitment from the Parliamentary Secretary or the Minister for $1.7 million I would be very happy. The Minister has said that he looks forward to turning the first sod, which is his right, with the honourable member for Tamworth when work begins on the Gunnedah school hall. Even if the work begins immediately, or as soon as possible, it will take some time to complete. The amendment to the motion states that the school hall will be built during this term of the Government and will be finished. That is not a commitment by the Minister for Education and Training that the building will be commenced in the last couple of weeks of this term, or that it will take two years to build. The commitment is that the hall will be built.
I congratulate the honourable member for Tamworth on bringing this matter to the attention of the House. I congratulate the Deputy Premier on giving the commitment that the hall will be built during this term. I look forward to the honourable member for Tamworth opening that hall with the Minister this term. I look forward to the member continuing to look after the interests of the people of Tamworth, particularly the students at Gunnedah South Public School, long after the next election.
Mr RICHARD TORBAY (Northern Tablelands) [12.51 p.m.]: I also congratulate the honourable member for Tamworth on moving this motion. I acknowledge the amendment moved by the Government, which the honourable member for Tamworth has indicated he will support, and I will support it. This is a good win for the school and for the Tamworth electorate. When elected to the Tamworth electorate, the honourable member went out to his community and asked them what important issues he needed to take up on their behalf. My electorate shares the same media footprint with the Tamworth electorate, and I saw mentioned time and again the need for a school hall at Gunnedah South. The honourable member for Bankstown, the honourable member for East Hills and other members indicated that the hall will be built during this term, and I congratulate the Government on that commitment. However, I remind the Government that there is a similar commitment for a school hall at the Newling Public School, in the Northern Tablelands.
Mr Tony Stewart: It will be delivered.
Mr RICHARD TORBAY: The Parliamentary Secretary said it will be delivered, and I appreciate that commitment. If it is delivered, the honourable member for Tamworth and I will be able to celebrate together in the New England area. The Government also gave a commitment for a covered outdoor learning area for Kellys Plains Public School. The shadow Minister commented on capital funding. It is acknowledged that there is a lot of catch-up to be done with capital funding for schools. In the four years prior to my election to this House in 1999, capital funding for schools was $2 billion. In the four years from 1999 to 2003 it was more than $5 billion. That was a significant increase in capital funding, but we are still catching up on the backlog. I have visited all 55 schools in the Northern Tablelands electorate and with the Government's contribution and the massive support from parents, teachers and students many of them are looking fantastic.
Recently I attended the 125-years celebration of the Gilgai Public School in my electorate, which was a wonderful event. It is important that we continue to acknowledge the significant role that public education plays in our communities, particularly in regional and remote areas. I take this opportunity to congratulate the Government also on an initiative at Ashford Central School. Years 11 and 12 have been added to that remote local school, and the results have been stunning. Students would not have had the opportunity of completing years 11 and 12 if that program had not been introduced. Previously, indigenous students from that community could not go on to years 11 and 12 because they were not available. Now there is a retention rate of 90 per cent of students going on to year 11 in that remote community. At Ashford school people who had left school more than 15 years previously are undertaking studies. People are coming back to education, and the positive effects in that community have already being felt. That community has seen more than its fair share of hardship.
In education there is always a lot to be done: there is more to be done in many area. The honourable member for Tamworth has had some good news, and I know how hard he pushed this issue. I hope the capital projects in the Northern Tablelands will be completed sooner rather than later. I acknowledge that resources are finite, and we will continue to push very hard for them because the benefits are not only to education but also to the flow-on social effects and the strong community sense to perform in difficult times. I congratulate the honourable member for Tamworth and the Government on this good outcome.
Mr PETER DRAPER (Tamworth) [12.56 p.m.], in reply: I support the amendment, I applaud the announcement by the Government, and I congratulate the Minister, who has received many representations on behalf of the Gunnedah South Public School community. I have made a number of representations and I know that in years past many other representations have been made. I thank the Parliamentary Secretary, as well as the honourable member for North Shore, the honourable member for East Hills and the honourable member for Northern Tablelands for their contributions to this debate. The honourable member for Northern Tablelands raised the very valid point that when I decided to campaign in the Tamworth electorate I spent a lot of time in Gunnedah knocking on doors and listening to people. One clear message I received time and again was the importance of getting a hall for the school community.
I was overwhelmed by the passion within the community and the wide-ranging support from businesspeople, taxi drivers, truck drivers and coalmine workers. Everyone supported the concept of giving the young children of Gunnedah the facilities they deserve for school activities. I very much applaud the confirmation that the hall and the associated covered walkway and canteen will be completed this term. That is wonderful news for me to take to the Gunnedah community, which has been aware since early November that I was scheduled to speak on this motion today. The community has kept in close contact with me and my office, eagerly awaiting any developments. We now have confirmation that it will happen!
After I gave my inaugural speech, I took the first opportunity to lodge this important notice of motion and to ask in question time when the school hall would be completed. I am delighted that it is now happening. I am a very strong supporter and advocate of public education. I am a member of the Nemingha school council, and when parliamentary activities allow I make as much contribution as I can to that community. The school is important to me, because my son attends it, and my daughter will attend it next year. My father was a public primary school principal and my grandmother was a public primary school principal. I am married to a teacher, so I have a close association with the education system.
Mr Barry O'Farrell: You think you would learn after a while.
Mr PETER DRAPER: I do not think that one learns; one just moves with the flow. I have a strong appreciation of the contribution that teachers make to our education system. We all know the difficulties that they are facing at the moment and we support their endeavours. I recognise the willingness of the Government to commit to building this school hall and I again thank the Minister. I am looking forward to going to the site with a shovel and assisting the Minister in turning the first sod.
Amendment agreed to.
Motion as amended agreed to.
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