Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in the chamber tonight to speak on a matter of importance to the people of Ryan. Last Friday evening I had the pleasure of attending the opening of the annual Rainworth State School art show. This event coincided with the opening of two new buildings—a library and a school hall. These buildings are a wonderful resource and have been provided through the BER program. What is significant is that the building company worked diligently with the school and its P&C to rework and rectify the Labor state government’s plans, plans that would have removed the cricket nets, much-needed and in-demand play space and a 100-year-old tree. Instead, the builders worked with the school community on a much more difficult site—unable to be used for other purposes—and, importantly, delivered what the school community wanted. The local builder not only completed this more difficult construction project within budget but also still had funding for fit-out and extras. The final result was a very happy school community, a satisfied builder with a job well done and an example of a BER project that achieved its purpose.

Moggill State School also fought hard for its own project manager and, as a result, will soon open a new hall and library to meet the needs of its community. However, in today’s Courier-Mail the local state member, Dr Bruce Flegg, revealed what is unquestionably one of the most disastrous outcomes of the BER program. At Mount Crosby State School, just up the road from Moggill State School, the situation is one of stark contrast. Moggill State School and Mount Crosby State School have a similar number of enrolments. The Mount Crosby community has experienced enormous growth, resulting in 710 students and the state school being at 100 per cent over capacity. Even the local kindergarten does not have a permanent home. Mount Crosby State School has no hall. It has no adequate school library. So you can understand the excitement when the BER program was announced. However, despite having plans already drawn up, it missed out on the first two rounds of funding, although schools with existing facilities, schools due for closure and others with no needs or plans at the ready were funded.

Unlike Moggill State School, Mount Crosby were not allowed to manage their own project. And the builder who had drawn up their original plans was not even allowed to quote on the project. The Mount Crosby State School program has been devastated by unfairness, by inequities and by injustices. I am here representing the students, the teachers, the parents and the friends of Mount Crosby State School in the electorate of Ryan. The school has now become embroiled in a bitter dispute with the state department.

So, despite both schools having a similar number of students and the same funding, Moggill State School has been provided with a hall of about 1,480 square metres while Mount Crosby has been provided with one of barely 830 square metres. Moggill’s hall is fully enclosed and suitable for community events. It has covered verandas and a kitchen and is suitable to operate outside-school-hours care. Mount Crosby’s hall, on the other hand, will be partially enclosed with only two walls. There is no veranda; there is a small room and the community will not find it appropriate for their needs. Moggill’s is also equipped with a special sports floor and has $100,000 worth of audio and lighting equipment. Mount Crosby will have access to an audio system.

Their respective libraries are a similar story. At Moggill State School, the library and resource centre is over 450 square metres. The library at Mount Crosby will be a mere 270 square metres in size. As taxpayers, the people of Mount Crosby have every right to be incensed. As the parents of children at a wonderful primary school who will simply miss out on the infrastructure that they so desperately need, they have every right to feel let down by Labor. This program has treated Mount Crosby with contempt. For this, the Gillard government should stand condemned. To channel the Prime Minister speaking on another failed Labor program: ‘It is a mess.’

But no-one in government is listening. As important as you say stimulus may be, a waste of money remains a waste of money. I call on the minister to intervene and to allow Mount Crosby to appoint its own project manager. I call on the minister to intervene and rescue this project for the benefit of the whole of the Mount Crosby community. I call on the minister to intervene to ensure that Mount Crosby State School receives the facilities it should for this funding. (Time expired)