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

I rise today to put on the record the appreciation of many local schools in my electorate of the BER funding that the government has allocated to them. I would particularly like to read a letter from Bob Davis, the principal at St Leonard’s Catholic Primary School in Glen Waverley. Bob states:

The decisions you have had to make in these critical economic times in regards to stimulating the economy have no doubt been hard on you all. I am just grateful that your party which was elected on many platforms, one of which being education, did not forget schools when deciding where this building money could have been spent. Furthermore I congratulate you for not differentiating between State, Independent and Catholic Schools. At the end of the day they are all inhabited by young Australians who are worthy of your support.

This is one of many letters and comments I have received from numerous principals of primary schools across my electorate who are exceptionally grateful for this money. They are grateful that primary schools have finally been put on the funding map. They have been overlooked for a long time, but we on this side of the House know that those formative years in your education are often the most important. Preschool and primary school are vitally important, and we have put the money into those areas that have been neglected. Many of the schools in my electorate are now ageing by virtue of the time that the suburbs were built. They now need major repair. Often finding those dollars, particularly, as I will read further, within the Catholic system, has been quite difficult. I am exceptionally proud that we have not differentiated and that all the schools across my electorate—the independent, the Catholic and the state schools—will get the money. It is a very big project and there have been some hiccups along the way, but we will work through those. I am grateful to the state department for recognising that this is a project that we can work on together and be proud of.

Bob goes on to say:

It is easy to talk about creating learning environments that embrace technological change and teaching pedagogy. It is another altogether to be able to find the financial capital to make this happen in a real sense. This injection of $2,000,000 will allow me to oversee a major rebuild of the school. We have made the decision to borrow an additional $1,400,000 which will allow us to complete what has always only been a pie in the sky Master Plan. Admittedly, we have considerable debt for the next 15 years however the opportunity to realize a $3,000,000 + rebuild will in a way be a rebirth of this school. On behalf of the children of this school, who do not get an electoral voice, I would like to say thank you.

Politicians of all persuasions are always easy targets for public criticism by the general public. I am well aware that you are often damned if you do and damned if you don’t, generally by people who have little understanding of what you do or any empathy for the delicate nature of your decision making. You probably get little public thanks for what you do but are constantly reminded of your short fallings. Be that as it may, you are at the heart of our democratic process and our lives are enriched by your individual and collective dedication to the Australian community. I for one, recognize that fundamentally all politicians are just regular people with a social conscience who are prepared to put themselves forward to help their communities.

I am exceptionally grateful for Bob writing to me and expressing his thanks on behalf of the community. (Time expired)

Danna Vale (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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