Paul Neville (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Not bananas, but we can fix you up with mandarins. If you look for the sign ‘Gaypak’ you will notice that it comes from my electorate. The Australian government has fully funded this $472,000 project and, by doing so, has given the local students more educational opportunities into the future. The block is a multipurpose building comprising staffroom, amenities and adjoining interview room with facilities, which will be available for the public and community to use at night, including for TAFE lecture courses. Gayndah State High School was originally opened in 1963 with enrolment of 135 students. Since then it has developed into a leading secondary education unit for the district.

With the additional bonus of offering trade and technical courses, Burnett college will draw senior students from throughout the North Burnett region, from towns like Eidsvold, Mundubbera and Biggenden. These students will now have the chance to complete their secondary education whilst gaining valuable skills in the areas of engineering, business, office administration, information technology, horticulture and child care.

While the majority of the funding for this new facility came from the Australian government, the school was also involved in contributing $8,000 worth of landscaping and additional fixtures and fittings for the project. The parents of students at Gayndah State High School deserve special mention, in particular the P&C president, Liz Paton, because without this hard work and commitment to the school the project may not have got under way and developed in the way it did.

I would also like to congratulate the school principal, Greg Parry, a most focused and dedicated educator, his deputy, Louise Wood, and in particular the school gardener, Gordon Schneider, who has done a wonderful job in presenting this new administration building in landscaped gardens. We often build these things and they sit out there in some stark, colourless background, but to go to this new administration block was quite remarkable and a tribute to all those involved. I am proud that the Commonwealth put its money into such a project.

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