Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Education of course is central to the lives of young Australians and a great education is what all of us here in the Australian parliament would wish for our young people. Of course, the government has different views from those of the opposition as to how we can improve the education of our young people and that is what we debate here in the Australian parliament. Our schools are of course vital hubs in our local communities and they are where young people go not only to learn and grow academically and socially but also to acquire an academic education that seeks to prepare them for their adult lives. At schools they also get the opportunity to interact with other young people of their own age. That is why the physical infrastructure of schools is so important, as are their environmental and social surroundings, so that they are safe and secure.

During the recent recess I had the opportunity of visiting many of the local schools in the Ryan electorate to inform them that they had been successful in receiving funding from the Howard government. Ryan schools received some $1.6 million in federal government funding as part of the Investing in Our Schools policy program. This is a wonderful Howard government initiative that has given funding to local schools in the Ryan electorate, such as the Indooroopilly State High School, Indooroopilly Primary School, Jamboree Heights State School, Jindalee State School, the Gap State School and Rainworth State School, which I visited amongst others in the Ryan electorate.

These schools have benefited, as I said, from some $1.6 million of funding and it has gone to some wonderful causes in those schools. Let me give some examples. Chapel Hill State School received the full amount possible of $150,000 for the completion of shade structures, classroom and play equipment. Indooroopilly State School received some $21,000 for its ICT upgrade plus an additional $128,610 for library extension—amounting also to the full complement of $150,000. Indooroopilly State School also received the full amount of $150,000 for playground upgrades, and the list continues. I very proudly visited Jamboree Heights State School. They received $145,000 for shade structures, ground and playground upgrades. Jindalee State School received $72,000 for an ICT upgrade. I also note that Kenmore State High School was very pleased with its $150,000 for library air conditioning. A model state school in my electorate of Ryan received $51,000 for air-conditioning facilities. Where really the state Labor government should be investing in air conditioning, the Howard government has come to the rescue. Also, the Mount Ommaney Special School received almost the full amount of $150,000 for its play equipment program.

A very worthwhile initiative has been the library and ICT extension at Payne Road State School, worth $146,000. At Rainworth State School—at which, as I mentioned, I had the opportunity of visiting and meeting the students—the music instruments and resources centre that they are going to spend their $45,000 on was warmly welcomed and complimented by the principal and the deputy principal and the school students that I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting to.

At The Gap State High School and The Gap State School in the wonderful, family-friendly suburb of The Gap, they received $78,000 and $124,000 respectively, for shade structures and hall refurbishment in the case of the high school, and for a library and music facilities extension in the case of The Gap State School. Upper Brookfield State School received $55,000 from the Investing in Our Schools program for shade structures, airconditioning and water filters. And again the Howard government has come to the rescue where the Beattie Labor government should be investing in these schools.

I want to commend the Investing in Our Schools program to the people of Ryan, to the parents of Ryan. It has provided and will provide some $700 million over 2005-08 to fund state school capital projects that have been identified and prioritised by local school communities. So this program is a result of the stakeholders right on the ground floor, right at the school hub, deciding where this money should be spent, rather than some bureaucrats in Canberra or in George Street in Brisbane. All members of the government very strongly encourage greater funding for their local schools, as I do as the member for Ryan. (Time expired)