Tuesday, 2 August 2022

Bayswater electorate education funding

Mr TAYLOR (Bayswater) (13:26): I would not be where I am today without the great gift of public education that I received when growing up. It is the great leveller in our society, and I am proud that the state Labor government have made our state the best in the nation when it comes to giving kids and students the best start in life, with record investment into education. Locally I make no apologies for education being one of my biggest priorities, and since being elected in 2018 we have gotten so much done.

Here are a few examples: $11.2 million for Wantirna College, $8.1 million for Fairhills High, new ovals and outdoor spaces at Boronia Heights Primary and The Basin Primary, $4.3 million for Boronia West Primary, a new learning hub for Bayswater Primary, $9.2 million for Templeton Primary, $1.56 million for Our Lady of Lourdes Primary, $1.65 million for St Bernadette’s Primary, new playgrounds at Bayswater West Primary and The Basin Primary, $12.43 million for Bayswater Secondary, over $8 million for Heathmont College, new toilet facilities at Regency Park Primary and Bayswater West Primary, major upgrades at Eastern Ranges School, major works at Bayswater South Primary, a new running track at Boronia K–12, accessibility upgrades at Wantirna Primary, a new outdoor space at Fairhills Primary, a minor upgrade at Knox Central Primary—and much, much more. In total now there has been over $70 million in local school upgrades to make sure kids learn in the very best facilities they deserve.

We are also putting mental health workers into every single government and low-fee non-gov primary school. We not only saved TAFE from the cuts of the last lot, we have reimagined it now with over 60 free TAFE courses to make sure people get the skills they need for the jobs they want. And do not forget our massive reform to early years education, with free kinder starting next year and three-year-old kinder already being delivered. Good governments value education and invest in it because it is the right thing to do. There is so much more work to do, and I look forward to continuing to deliver for my community and making sure kids get the very best start in life.