Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Saturday night I was delighted to join parents, friends, teachers and past alumni of Carnegie Primary School to help celebrate their 125th anniversary year. Carnegie Primary School was established in 1888. It predates Carnegie as a suburb and was in fact called Rosstown State School, reflecting the original name for Carnegie. There can be no doubt that 125 years is an amazing milestone for any organisation; however, none more so than one that is dedicated to the education of our young people and, in so doing, responsible for their future and indeed our nation's future.

It is easy to say '125 years'. However, it is far more difficult to comprehend the impact that, over that period of time, this school has had on so many students—six generations or so. It is also difficult to truly appreciate the degree to which our world has changed since the 1880s and the integral role that schools such as this have played in those changes. Of course, in 1888, we were not yet a nation but were still a colony of Victoria. Apart from the formation of Carnegie Primary School, 1888 was an important year for the colonies as it marked 100 years since the arrival of the First Fleet. The then Premier of Victoria was Duncan Gillies, and Queen Victoria was still on the throne.

1880s Melbourne was 'Marvellous Melbourne', one of the wealthiest and largest cities in the world, for a time second only to London. Of course, this was built on wealth generated by the discovery of gold in central Victoria and the rush of people from around the world keen to improve their position in life. Carnegie—or Rosstown, as it was called—was developed on the edge of Melbourne in the 1870s, and, as a natural consequence, a school was soon required. In 1891, only 76 per cent of the population between the ages of five and 14 could read and write. However, in just over 20 years, or one generation, this had lifted to 90 per cent.

While I am sure that these literacy results would not please today's teachers or parents, they are, however, a dramatic indicator of the life-changing education that schools such as Carnegie have provided to children over the past 125 years. They have opened a world of opportunity that would otherwise not have been possible, and sometimes we take this for granted. The lessons of history are sometimes difficult to discern. However, I have no doubt that the inroads that Carnegie Primary School has made each and every decade have transformed education and the lives of the children who receive it.

The coalition government is committed to a clear funding model for education that provides certainty for all schools, and to delivering autonomy back to the schools and their communities. Carnegie Primary School will benefit from this.