Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier this year I received a letter from a senior student at Geelong High School, Matt Hrkac, complaining bitterly about the conditions of buildings at his school, particularly the Winstanley Wing. He wrote of teachers and students working in classrooms with cracked walls, substandard heating and no cooling, of a school community making do with a hotchpotch of ageing and poorly designed classrooms where students were being asked to do their best in buildings long past their best. Matt's letter was a passionate appeal from a young man who clearly loves his school, likes his teachers, and believes they all deserve better than the deal they currently have. Last month I took up Matt's offer to visit the school and tour its buildings.

Geelong High School is Geelong's oldest state secondary school. It is an iconic educational institution in our city, that two years ago celebrated its centenary. What I saw shocked me. The food technology and art rooms in the Winstanley Wing are in a particularly bad way. In these poorly designed spaces I saw power outlets on walls next to sinks and seven stoves in a classroom intended for use by 22 students. The art rooms were in reality decommissioned science rooms that were supposed to be a short-term solution nine years ago. What is needed is a complete rebuild of the area.

The school has lobbied the Victorian government to fund a master plan that would take the project through to the design phase so that the true cost of rebuilding would become clear. The former Brumby Labor government approved the project to that stage in 2010, but the Baillieu government has refused to match that promise and has left the school feeling badly let down. Geelong High has been identified as one of the 50 most needy schools in the state, requiring urgent maintenance. This is welcome, but it is not a long-term solution. I know the school does not want what is essentially a bandaid solution to remove the imperative for real building improvement.

The member for Geelong, Ian Trezise, is a big supporter of the rebuilding program and is petitioning the Baillieu government to act now. We do not want another generation of students educated in this archaic facility. The Victorian Liberals need to commit to funding the design of a master plan. This would be an estimated $200,000 well spent. Federal Labor knows the difference top-class facilities make to learning outcomes. That is why this government embarked on the biggest investment in education infrastructure since Federation. What is needed is for the Victorian Baillieu government to show us how much it, too, values education.

I thank Matt for his letter and his political courage. He is as good an indication as any that despite substandard classrooms Geelong High is nurturing first-class students.