Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Nearly 60 schools across the electorate of Brand opened their doors last week to welcome new and old students to the new school year. Our growing community has two new primary schools this year: Honeywood Primary School in Wandi, headed by Maria Cook, and Wellard Primary School in Wellard, headed by Geoff Miller. I would like to wish Maria and Geoff and all the teachers and other staff at the school all the best as they grow these new schools into places of learning and create lasting memories for all the children who get to call them their schools. I was so pleased to have the chance to attend the official opening of the Wellard Primary School and chat with parents and students who can now walk to school in this great new facility close to their homes. It was a very happy occasion with much enthusiasm and was embraced widely by the nearby community.

For other schools, from Kwinana to Singleton and everywhere in between, lunch boxes and bags were packed before kids from kindy to year 12 headed off to one of the most important and formative places of their lives: their school. They will spend time in a school community that is made up of many people—teachers, of course, but also education assistants, gardeners, cleaners and administrators—who all work to ensure students receive the best school education and the best school experience possible. Unfortunately, not all communities in Brand have access to the infrastructure today's students and their families rely on to complement their in-school learning. Unfortunately, for families in Port Kennedy, Warnbro, Secret Harbour, Baldivis and Wellard with children at school, TAFE or uni, the NBN is yet to be delivered, leaving many without consistent internet access. It's a crying shame, and it's this government's fault.

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