Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the National Secondary School Computer Fund and, in particular, the benefits that this policy has provided in my electorate. This is part of the broader education revolution being undertaken by the Rudd Labor government, and it will benefit thousands of children in my electorate by giving them the skills they need to succeed in life. I would like to congratulate the three schools in my electorate that received funding under the National Secondary School Computer Fund in the first round of applications, which was announced earlier this year.

The Lighthouse Christian College is a Christian co-educational private school located in Keysborough. It is ably led by the principal, Mr Tim Rogers. The Lighthouse Christian College received 64 computers in the first round of the grants. Last Friday the Lighthouse Christian College celebrated its 20th anniversary, and I was honoured to attend and to be invited to deliver an address at that function. It was a joyful celebration of the achievements of the school. The school community has taken this school from a collection of demountables in empty paddocks at Keysborough in 1988 to the thriving school it is today, with nearly 1,000 students.

The second local recipient of funding under the policy was Mount Hira College, an independent co-educational school also in Keysborough, with strong links to the Turkish community. Mount Hira received 18 computers. Members will be interested to know that Mount Hira was established only in 2000—very recently—but has grown into a thriving school in that short period of time.

The other school in my electorate that received computers was the BEST Centre in Noble Park. This is a small independent school that looks after students who have had difficulty settling in regular schools. It is run by the long-established and wonderful Victorian institution Berry Street, which is a community organisation that looks after thousands of young Victorians every year. The BEST Centre received some 26 computers.

All of these schools have welcomed the provision of computers to their schools, which is of course directed at bringing schools with a computer-to-student ratio of one to eight up to a target ratio of one to two. I know that there are very many schools in my electorate that are looking forward to the second round of the computers in schools program. That round is going to be announced later this year, and applications close on 9 October. The program will continue to deliver benefits to children throughout my electorate by providing them with skills for life.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! In accordance with standing order 193 the time for constituency statements has concluded.