Ms VAGHELA (Western Metropolitan) :
My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Education and Deputy Premier, the Honourable James Merlino, MP. This adjournment relates to the Minister’s portfolio responsibilities for education.
Nurturing the minds of our young Victorians and providing them with a safe place to learn has always been a priority for the Andrews Labor government.
More students and their families will soon have access to a great education in their local area thanks to the Andrews Labor government, with 13 new schools on track to open in 2023.
Tenders for construction have been put out as part of a $491.6 million investment to build 10 of the 13 new schools. We promised to build 100 new schools across the state by 2026, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.
Two of the schools which currently go by their interim names, Camms Road and Wollert West primary schools, which will include early learning centres on site, have been designed as supported inclusion schools, providing accessible and inclusive education for all students.
These schools include a greater emphasis on supporting students with disabilities to access specialist infrastructure and teaching expertise to ensure all Victorian children can attend a great local school.
The Victorian budget 2021–22 has seen $1.6 billion invested to build new schools and improve existing schools to make sure our kids have the bright futures they deserve.
In the past seven years, the government has invested more than $10.9 billion in building new schools and more than 1700 school upgrades, creating around 13 500 jobs in construction and associated industries. It is now ahead of schedule in its commitment to open 100 new schools by 2026, with 62 new schools opening between 2019 and 2024.
The action I seek from the minister is to provide me with an update on how many of the proposed new schools will be built in my electorate of the Western Metropolitan Region.
Reply:
James Merlino MP Deputy Premier Minister for Education, Minister for Mental Health (12 October 2021):
The Andrews Labor Government is committed to growing educational opportunities for all Victorians. We have invested more than $10.9 billion over the past seven years to build new schools and modernise existing educational facilities across Victoria. We will continue with this record funding and open 100 new schools over eight years (2019–2026) to meet the needs of growing communities.
Of the 62 new schools announced to open between 2019 and 2024, 17 are located within the Western Metropolitan Region. This includes three schools that opened in 2019, three schools that opened in 2020 and four schools that opened in 2021. It also includes one school committed to open in 2022 and five schools committed to open in 2023. In addition, one school has already been announced for 2024.
This means that 10 new schools have opened since 2019 and seven are currently committed to open by 2024 within the Western Metropolitan Region. The schools that have been opened are:
- Burnside Primary School
- Dohertys Creek P-9 College
- Saltwater P-9 College
- Davis Creek Primary School
- Homestead Senior Secondary College
- Riverwalk Primary School
- Aintree Primary School
- Footscray High School
- Garrang Wilam Primary School
- Riverbend Primary School
The schools to be opened are:
2022
- Deanside Primary School
2023
- Holyoake Parade Primary School (interim name)
- Lollypop Creek Primary School (interim name)
- Riverdale East Primary School (interim name)
- Rockbank Murray Road Primary School (interim name)
- Tarneit Missen House Primary School (interim name)
2024
- Truganina North Secondary College (interim name)