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

Today I would like to inform the House of the status of the some of the many Building the Education Revolution projects in my electorate of Deakin. On many previous occasions in this place I have spoken of the great results that have been achieved in our local schools through funding under the Primary Schools for the 21st Century program. Since 3 March this year, when I last spoke on this subject, I have had the pleasure of attending another five openings of new school buildings in Deakin. On 9 March it was at Tintern Girls Grammar School in Ringwood East. On 15 March it was at Burwood Heights Primary school. On 16 March it was St Thomas' Catholic Primary School in Blackburn, and on 18 March it was at both Marlborough Primary School in Heathmont and Eastwood Primary School in Ringwood East.

The projects have made an enormous difference to the schools, and have been enthusiastically received by students, parents and teachers. There are many more projects finished or close to finishing, and the next few months will be a very exciting time for many of the local schools in Deakin as they also get to use their new facilities. The opposition squeal about BER rip-offs, but these are real projects that provided real local jobs when they were needed most and have given local schools a new and modern outlook.

Having touched on the issue of BER rip-offs, I think I should comment that I have now heard of three instances of BER rip-offs in my own local area. Schools that have been promised funding are now hearing that the money has been cut. That is right—cut. Members may well ask, 'Who has cut the money?' Ted Baillieu and the Liberal Party of Victoria have cut the money. Some on the other side are laughing at this. Do you think this is a laughing matter for schools? I have news: we will keep going with this.

Schools such as Antonio Park Primary School, which had initial approved funding for $2,500,000 to build a new performing arts centre for the amount of $2 million and to demolish and rebuild the asbestos ridden portable building that now houses the after-school-hours centre, now hear that $500,000 is to be taken away from their school. Heathmont East Primary School was allocated $2.725 million to build a new multipurpose building to house badly needed new classrooms at this fast-growing school. Yet they are now told that $225,000 has simply been taken away and the refurbishment of existing buildings that was going to be undertaken has been scrapped. Just outside of my electorate, Warranwood Primary School believed they were allocated $2.7 million to construct a new building and refurbish parts of the school but then, once the main building was nearing completion, they found that the amount they were promised has been dropped and they are at least $200,000 worse off.

I have long been aware that there could be adjustments in allocations to schools in Victoria under the BER program, but in each case consultation and agreement is required. As I understand it, there has been no genuine consultation, if any, and no agreement has been reached. Indeed, two of these schools, Antonio Park and Warranwood Primary—if we go back through the history of them both—were initially allocated $3 million under the BER. One of the things that was done in Victoria at the time was that some schools that did not need quite as much helped out others that needed a bit more and both of these schools voluntarily gave up $500,000 of funding each to put into the eastern region pool so that other schools could benefit from it. Indeed, Heathmont East Primary School, another school I mentioned, is a school that benefited from this. They received an extra $225,000 on top of their $2.5 million, taking it to $2.725 million. But that has gone as well.

I fear that these examples may be only the tip of the iceberg and that the state Liberal government is ripping off many more schools in other areas and regions as well. It is now time for the Liberal Party and Mr Baillieu to come clean with school councils, parents, teachers and students of these schools and tell them what they have done with the money allocated to their schools under the BER program. This is, of course, federal money. This is money that schools knew they had. They had paperwork that said what they were going to receive. Yet when they come to the end of their build and they say, 'We need to do some more works around the schools and we know we have some money left over,' they will then all of a sudden be told, 'No, you don't.' I do not accept that the Liberal state government of Victoria can just walk in and knock off federal funds allocated to these schools and neither should anyone in the school communities involved.

Question agreed to.

House adjourned at 16:59