Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to note the opening in my electorate soon of a new Centrelink office in York Street, South Melbourne. Recently I attended the usual weekly sausage sizzle at the housing commission in Park Street and did appreciate the reaction of a lot of my friends down there, including Marlene McKay and Val Heagerty, to the work that my office had done to ensure that once the existing Centrelink office opposite the South Melbourne Market closed it did not mean that a new office would not be opened. There has been a particular problem with that South Melbourne office and although I have not been asked—despite being probably the most active person in the area to see that Centrelink stay open—to open the office, the local Liberal senator has. I suppose that is one of the privileges of the office of government. Nonetheless I would rather have the accolades of people down at the housing commission than open the new Centrelink office anytime. While I was down there, I saw that there is lots of new office space in York Street, South Melbourne. Perhaps the Australian Electoral Commission ought to move back out of the city and into some of that new accommodation so that we can have an AEC office back in the electorate.

Sadly, while one institution is opening, another important local institution has closed down. The teachers and parents at Albert Park College sadly had to deal with the drastically falling enrolments at that school and voted to close the college. That is a great shame. It is a great institution. I have attended many of their speech nights and ceremonies. I am sure that the college will rise again. It is very important that the 200 kids who are still enrolled there be treated very sensitively and that every possible measure be taken to see that they are integrated into local schools, like another great local institution—Elwood Secondary College.

While we are speaking about that closure of Albert Park College, I am sure that all measures will be taken to see that the very successful Albert Park creche, which is located at the same site, stays open. I am certainly working to see that it stays open for all of the parents. It does seem a shame if one successful institution has to pay the price for another organisation that has gone into abeyance. Talking about child care, it is most interesting to note that the state government and the council have voted to establish 90 places at the Elwood hub—a plan exactly like the model that Labor leader Beazley and childcare spokesperson Plibersek have been talking about in this parliament. I congratulate them particularly on having 30 places for four-year-old kinder.

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