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- 24 February 2005
Balgowlah North Public School
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Page: 14216
Debate resumed from 9 December 2004.
Mr BARRY O'FARRELL (Ku-ring-gai—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) [11.30 a.m.]: As I was saying when I was so rudely interrupted on 9 December, Balgowlah North Public School is a fine school with teachers who provide service, like many teachers in the public system, beyond the call of duty. The students attend school with an enthusiasm for learning that is reinforced by their parents at home. I visited the school with my colleague the honourable member for Wakehurst in the lead-up to the 2003 State election campaign. It is one of the schools about which Henry Parkes spoke when he said, at the time of the introduction in this Chamber of the Public Instruction Act in 1880, that committed free compulsory and secular education would be available to all.
As I said on the last occasion, the reality is that the way this Government is treating North Balgowlah Public School means that the commitment of Henry Parkes all those years ago is simply not being delivered to the community of Balgowlah. The shadow Minister for Education and Training, the honourable member for North Shore, has also visited the school. I want to place on the record the shadow Minister's media release issued on 8 February headed "Skinner Joins Parents at Balgowlah North Public School in Push for Upgrade". The release states:
Shadow Education Minister Jillian Skinner has backed parents at Balgowlah North Public School in their efforts to lobby the Carr Government for an upgrade of the school.
"I walked around the grounds of Balgowlah North yesterday and was disgusted to see that the government has done absolutely nothing to honour its commitment to upgrade classrooms," Mrs Skinner said.
"There are demountables scattered around the site, old classrooms that don't meet current standards, inadequate storage space with an outside store shed which is rusted and dilapidated, a school hall which doubles as a classroom—requiring students to shift if it is needed—and a temporary library which doesn't measure up to 2005 requirements.
"Parents speak glowingly of the leadership and teaching at Balgowlah North, they have raised funds to provide many of the temporary buildings on site, but they are fed up with their needs being ignored by the government.
"The government has so far ignored a Facilities Review of the school done by the Department of Education—
a matter mentioned by the honourable member for Manly in his contribution—
which found that it should have 1,425 square meters of learning space instead of the current 440 square meters.
That is, one-third less learning space than provided for under code by the Department of Education and Training. The release continues:
"Of the $300,000 promised to bring three old classrooms up to minimum dimensions and standards, at least $140,000 has now been whittled away on electricity, toilet and administration upgrades.
"P&C President Bo Vella told me that she cannot understand why the government conducted a review of the school yet is ignoring the findings.
'It is so frustrating that we have taken the right route and done everything the government has asked us to do yet we have been given no indication that there is funding for an upgrade.
'What we want to see is a master plan drawn up and a commitment from the Minister that the work is going to happen,' Ms Vella said.
"The Carr Government needs to stop ignoring the parents, teachers and students at Balgowlah North Public School and make a real commitment that will see the school upgraded as required in the review," Mrs Skinner said.
The honourable member for North Shore attached to her release a table from the facilities review which the honourable member for Manly so eloquently read onto the record during his contribution. It is no coincidence that in today's Sydney Morning Herald Annandale Public School is shown to be infested with termites. The honourable member for Wakehurst and I were trying to work out the collective noun for a group of termites and we realised it was a caucus of termites: the sort of caucus of termites we saw yesterday who were conflicted in choosing the next Premier of New South Wales. I am delighted that my opposite number, the Minister for Health, almost got the numbers, which almost certainly means he will be the next Premier of New South Wales when the Premier leaves for good. It is the same the sort of caucus of termites that brought the Premier to book on Tuesday in relation to land tax.
Balgowlah North Public School is an extreme example of the lack of facilities available to parents, teachers and students who are trying to get on with public education. It is also indicative of what is occurring around the State, whether at Annandale Public School—or Beaumont Road Public School and Killara Public School, which are in my electorate—or elsewhere across the State. The Government is not committed to public education. It is time it got serious and supported this motion. [Time expired.]
Mrs JILLIAN SKINNER (North Shore) [11.34 a.m.]: Earlier this month I visited Balgowlah North Public School and was very impressed by the commitment of the principal and the parents with whom I spoke. I walked completely around the beautiful school grounds, which are in a lovely location. The school has one brick building on site but particularly worrying is the number of demountables which are not yet connected with wiring, and the number of temporary and portable buildings scattered all over the place. The irony is that after having a facilities review it was agreed that a block of old portable heritage-style wooden buildings could be upgraded to meet current guidelines.
As the Deputy Leader of the Opposition said, the Government has whittled away the money that was available to make the buildings comply with modern current guidelines. The classrooms are too small and there are no wet areas or storage areas. In one building the teacher barely had room to stand at the front of the class because the children were so close to her. She only had a tiny desk at the back of the room to prepare and store her work. It was ludicrous. I note that the honourable member for Newcastle, the Parliamentary Secretary, is smiling but it is not a smiling matter for teachers trying to deal with children—
Mr Bryce Gaudry: I am just smiling at you.
Mrs JILLIAN SKINNER: I am pleased that you are; it means you agree with me.
Mr Bryce Gaudry: No, just smiling at you, being friendly.
Mrs JILLIAN SKINNER: I am glad you are friendly. I wish you would be more friendly to schools, particularly Balgowlah North Public School, where children have to put up with unsatisfactory conditions. They are not horrendous when compared to the white ants, spiders, rats, mice, cockroaches and possum droppings that are prevalent in many other schools. North Balgowlah is being left out and it is fit and proper that the honourable member for Manly has raised the matter in this place. The wonderful parents of the school have raised a lot of money that has provided many of its temporary portable buildings. A table in the assets review shows that the school has "zero" library. A school of this size should have a library that is 215 square metres. It says "zero" library because its library is in a demountable building bought by the parents.
The parents bought a demountable building that is being used for an administration office which accommodates the principal. One of the things that distressed the parents who talked to me was that they had to go through the Department of Education and Training and the Department of Commerce to get contracts to install a simple wooden ramp costing $15,000 to give access to that building. A constant complaint from parents, principals and teachers when I visit schools is the amount of money that is thrown away on over-priced contracts when competent builders are available who can provide the maintenance upgrades and goods at much more competitive prices, thus allowing the money to go much further.
North Balgowlah has been abandoned by the Carr Government and, like so many others, the school is putting up with higgledy-piggledy classrooms being dropped on to the school site without a proper master plan. That is one reason the parents at the school have decided to draw up a concept plan. There has been a facilities review and the parents hope a concept plan will make the Government respond and develop a proper master plan for the future development of the school. The parents will then know down the track when they are getting money to provide facilities to enable their students and teachers to work and learn in modern classrooms.
Mr DAVID BARR (Manly) [11.39 a.m.], in reply: Balgowlah North Public School had 220 students in 1997 and 407 students in 2003, and is projected to have 480 students in 2007—that is if there is still the same proportion of outside-catchment students enrolled at the school. At the moment, a third of its students are from outside the catchment. I do not know whether that is one of the reasons the department and the Government have been slow in upgrading the school, but the students, whether from within the catchment or outside it, require decent facilities. That is what this House should be demanding for Balgowlah North Public School.
The Government has moved an amendment to my motion. The first two limbs of that amendment tell us what great things the Government has done here and there, and so on. The Government may well have done good things—perhaps the best things since sliced bread—or perhaps it was a pile of bollocks. I do not know, nor for the purposes of this debate am I interested in knowing, because that has nothing to do with the debate at hand. This debate is about Balgowlah North Public School. The third limb of the amendment mentions that a facilities review has taken place, and that is correct. It states that the upgrading of the school will be considered for a future capital works program. That is all fine and dandy, but there must be a definite commitment; these works cannot be left in the never-never. This matter has gone on for too long. The Government must act on this school, which deserves much better treatment than it has been getting.
I thank the honourable member for Newcastle, the honourable member for Wakehurst, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and the honourable member for North Shore for their contributions. I am gratified that Coalition members support the motion, but I am disappointed that the Government is not doing so. I would reiterate some of the basic points that I and other honourable members have made. This school is below requirements insofar as building standards are concerned, including square meterage of classrooms, the hall and canteens. On nearly every count one could mention, school standards are under requirements set by what is called the Primary School Facilities Standard. For example, the average size of teaching areas should be 60 square metres, to which must be added a practical activity area, home-based storage, personal effects storage, and so on. So that 95 square metres should be available for those classes. At this school, the average is 56 square metres.
The administration block should be 142 square metres; it is 84 square metres. The requirement for a covered outdoor learning area is 140 square metres, but the school does not have one. The staff area should be 67 square metres, but the school does not have an adequate staff facility at all. The canteen should be 54 square metres, but it is in fact 22.5 square metres. The storage area should be 39 square metres, but it is 4.3 square metres. It goes on and on. Notwithstanding the physical problems at the school, student numbers have increased—because this is an excellent school with a very good record in competitions that it has entered and in student performance. I outlined this in my earlier speech. This shows, as I have said, that buildings are not everything; it is the spirit of the school, teachers and parents, and the work of the teachers that is so critically important. Having said that, the students, staff and parents deserve to have top-rate facilities for students at Balgowlah North Public School. They do not at the moment.
In raising a matter like this publicly, there is always the risk that potential students could decide to go elsewhere. I have discussed this with members of the school community, and they are happy for this issue to be raised in the manner it has. I thank Opposition members for their contributions to the debate. I hope this will be a spur for the Government to do something about it. I had a meeting with the Minister for Education and Training yesterday at which I raised the issues concerning Balgowlah North Public School and called for public works to be undertaken urgently. I hope that will happen.
Question—That the amendment be agreed to—put.
The House divided.
Ayes, 45
Ms Allan
Ms Andrews
Mr Bartlett
Ms Beamer
Mr Black
Mr Brown
Ms Burney
Miss Burton
Mr Corrigan
Mr Crittenden
Ms D'Amore
Mr Debus
Mr Gaudry
Mr Gibson
Mr Greene
Mr Hickey | Ms Hay
Mr Hunter
Ms Judge
Ms Keneally
Mr Lynch
Mr McBride
Mr McLeay
Ms Megarrity
Mr Mills
Mr Morris
Mr Newell
Ms Nori
Mr Orkopoulos
Mrs Paluzzano
Mr Pearce
Mrs Perry | Mr Price
Dr Refshauge
Mr Sartor
Mr Scully
Mr Shearan
Mr Stewart
Mr Tripodi
Mr Watkins
Mr West
Mr Whan
Mr Yeadon
Tellers,
Mr Ashton
Mr Martin |
Noes, 35
Mr Aplin
Mr Armstrong
Mr Barr
Ms Berejiklian
Mr Cansdell
Mr Constance
Mr Debnam
Mr Draper
Mr Fraser
Mr Hartcher
Mr Hazzard
Ms Hodgkinson | Mrs Hopwood
Mr Humpherson
Mr Kerr
Mr Merton
Ms Moore
Mr Oakeshott
Mr O'Farrell
Mr Page
Mr Piccoli
Mr Pringle
Mr Richardson
Mr Roberts | Ms Seaton
Mrs Skinner
Mr Slack-Smith
Mr Souris
Mr Stoner
Mr Tink
Mr Torbay
Mr J. H. Turner
Mr R. W. Turner
Tellers,
Mr George
Mr Maguire |
Pair
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Amendment agreed to.
Motion as amended agreed to.
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