Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to speak about the works being undertaken at Blackburn Primary School under the Primary Schools for the 21st Century component of Building the Education Revolution. Of course, Blackburn Primary is not the only school in my area to receive P21 funding, but it has been one of the early starters after receiving funding of some $3 million in the first round of the P21 program.

As all members of the House would be aware, this wonderful opportunity to enhance vital school infrastructure extends to every primary and special school not only in my electorate of Deakin but right across Australia, with funding dependent upon enrolment size. To date, the amount of $38,950,000 has been allocated to primary schools in the electorate of Deakin under round 1 and round 2 of the P21 program. In addition, a further $6,125,000 has been allocated under the National School Pride Program in the electorate for maintenance and minor refurbishments at 40 schools—primary, secondary and special. And $1,970,000 has been allocated under the science and languages centres component of the BER. That investment adds up to a total of $45,075,000 for schools in Deakin. There are still over a dozen schools awaiting the announcement of round 3 P21 funding, so this total will shortly rise quite substantially.

Now I will go back to Blackburn Primary. They received $3 million for the construction of a new multipurpose hall—a hall large enough to hold all of the students in the school or for students to play indoor sports such as netball or basketball. Currently the school only has a hall that is too small to fit all the students, teachers and parents in it at the same time. In fact, the hall is really four old classrooms bolted together, with some of the formerly external walls cut out. It is especially full when the excellent school band at Blackburn give a performance at assembly. They are very, very good. The state of Victoria has also allocated funding to the school, specifically for necessary maintenance on the school’s over a century-old original school building, which is still in use today and of great local significance.

Therefore, it was with great pleasure that I attended the school to turn the first sod on the project with the Victorian Minister for Education, Bronwyn Pike, the state Treasurer, John Lenders, the principal, Sue Henderson, the school council president, Peter Chaffey, and the school captains on 31 July. As we saw on the day, fencing around the site has already gone up, the land has been cleared and the builders have already set up their site sheds.

Victoria-wide, across the government and non-government schools sector, the state government has calculated that 1,500 additional jobs have been secured under round 1 of the P21 program, with a further 2,700 jobs under round 2 and yet more to come under round 3. Investing in infrastructure and supporting local jobs in a time of global recession is vital for our economy—not just nationally but also locally. I am sure that most people by now have heard of the Rudd government’s $42 billion economic stimulus plan, and these school projects are just a part of the Rudd government’s infrastructure investment in Deakin. Seventy per cent of the stimulus package is being spent on infrastructure—supporting jobs for today and providing badly needed public and community facilities for the future.

We also know that infrastructure such as roads, rail, schools, community and sporting facilities in Deakin and right across Australia are good for the entire community. That is real infrastructure. It is not flagpoles but rather infrastructure that will make a difference to the long-term learning environment for our children to learn and grow in.

The Liberal Party voted against the BER package in this parliament. If it was up to them, not one school would be refurbished, not one new school hall or multipurpose centre would be built and there would be no maintenance or sporting area upgrades. And of course we know that would mean no jobs. This is a fantastic program. It is a great opportunity for all electorates. I am surprised that members on the other side of the House do not support the program when they are in here but are quite prepared to go out of this place and support the program on the ground.