Kerryn Phelps (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Wentworth is a diverse community. We have mansions, apartments and social housing, CEOs and homeless people, high-, middle- and low-income earners and pensioners. We also have 15 private schools and only one public high school. This denies families a choice. A number of public high schools in the area were closed about 20 years ago because of short-term planning based on short-term trends. These sites have since been sold off to private interests. It has led to a crisis in public education in Wentworth. The only public high school, Rose Bay Secondary College, is already over-capacity and the feeder primary schools in Wentworth have record student numbers. There is zero capacity to cater for the increased demand that will result from the dozens of already approved residential developments due to be completed in coming years. This problem is due to get worse before it gets better and it needs to be addressed now. During the recent by-election campaign, I committed to doing everything I could to work with campaigners, councils and state and federal governments to secure a site and the necessary funding for a new public high school for the families of Wentworth. That is what I intend to do. I acknowledge the advocacy work of Licia Heath and CLOSEast on this. It is a very important issue. We need to work together to deliver for the future of Wentworth.