Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I stand to speak about the Abbottsford Public School in Sydney, which I visited last Friday, and the revelations I have received since the visit to the school in the form of a letter that was written on behalf of the school council—by Lyn Reynolds, the president of the school council—to the Hon. Verity Firth MP, the Minister for Education and Training in New South Wales; to the Hon. Nathan Rees, the Premier of New South Wales; and to the Hon. Julia Gillard MP, the Deputy Prime Minister and of course Minister for Education. It is dated 14 September. Together with that letter I have received a chronology of events relating to the Abbotsford Public School and the granting by the Rudd Labor government of a $2.5 million project to knock down and rebuild four classrooms—yes, that is right: knock down and rebuild four classrooms.

I discovered last Friday that the government has expended $85,000 on plans, architects and consultants to advance this project. Yet, amazingly, this project is not supported by the local school. In fact, they oppose it. I have discovered in this letter, which is now presumably in the hands of the Hon. Julia Gillard—because I have the letter and it has been sent to her as well—firstly, that the school council and the parents and citizens association oppose the project that the government wants to undertake at the school. Secondly, they say that the amount the government estimates will be spent at the school, some $2.5 million, is four times the free-market rate that they can obtain for undertaking such a project in that community. That is right, Senator McGauran: four times. Thirdly, they say that the government is in breach of its own guidelines for a whole range of reasons which I will come to and which are set out in this letter. This confirms, in my view and, I know, in the view of many people in this Senate chamber, that what the government is doing at Abbotsford Public School is a prime example of the waste and mismanagement by this government with respect to the implementation of its so-called Building the Education Revolution and Primary Schools for the 21st Century programs.

I visited the school and I want to thank the parents and citizens association, including the president, Robert Vellar, the vice-president, Marcela Cox, and the secretary, Glen Schofield, as well as the school council president, Lyn Reynolds, and the school principal, Peter Widders, together with the other teachers and the students that I met as I inspected the school firsthand last Friday. I thank them for that congenial visit and the hospitality they showed during my visit to the school and for showing me around to inspect the site. It was very informative because, in visiting the four classrooms that the government plans to demolish and then rebuild, I met with teachers who work in those classrooms and, indeed, some of the students. The teacher said that they were absolutely delighted to work there. They have air conditioning; the facilities are fine. All that is needed is a bit of a paint job to smarten it up. What a surprise! They then showed me some things that the school would appreciate, including a covered outdoor learning area and an upgrade of the school oval, which contains some asbestos. These are the requests that have been made by the school and I support them. Good on them for putting forward what they do want and opposing what they do not want. They are concerned not just for themselves but about taxpayers getting value for money. Good on you for standing up and expressing common sense on behalf of your school community and the families that you represent. Clearly, the government’s proposal is half-witted and is reckless spending at its worst.

Regarding this letter to the Deputy Prime Minister and the others that I have mentioned, I quote page 1:

• The whole of the School Community never asked for, or agree to, the demolition of Block H and the rebuilding of 4 classrooms in its place.

How absurd that the government wishes to proceed without consultation with or the agreement of the school community. Furthermore, it says on page 2:

2. The School community, which consists of a range of tertiary educated professionals including engineers, builders, architects, lawyers, public servants, IT consultants, teachers, medical practitioners, various trades people and men and women of integrity and common sense, are astounded that such a project as that proposed by the DET—

the Department of Education and Training—

even including its classroom specifications, the installation and removal of 4 demountables and necessary groundwork, would cost $2.5million dollars. We believe that this is not value for money; we have unsuccessfully sought cost breakdowns; are bewildered why DET employs such practices and products that are quadruple the cost of what could be obtained in the free market and are deeply concerned that taxpayer’s money is not used in this manner.

Thank you for that and let us hope that the government responds as it should. Regarding the breach of the guidelines, on page 3 of this letter they say:

We believe that there has been a lapse in procedure where the P&C President did not sign the document dated 25th May or any other document agreeing to the DET’s proposal, nor was the school community agreeable to this proposal. This is evident from a letter to Ms Firth dated 2nd June and scanned by her office on 12th June 2009 signed by myself—

that is, the school council president—

the P&C President and the two Vice Presidents. We believe that this failure to obtain community consultation and approval for the DET proposed project constitutes a breach of BER procedural guidelines.

They are the Building the Education Revolution guidelines. There you have it: three key ingredients to a disgraceful display of reckless spending by the Rudd Labor government.

The chronology of events is very comprehensive. It sets out the first meetings that have been held, including back to 22 December 2008. It is illuminating. On Thursday, 16 April the president of the P&C, Robert Vellar, met with John Murphy, a federal MP, in his office listing modest projects around what the school would want. On Wednesday, 29 April there was a P&C meeting with Angela D’Amore, who, of course, is the state member for Drummoyne in Sydney. On Thursday, 30 April a letter was sent to John Murphy regarding the establishment of a preschool at the Abbotsford Public School, and there was a CC to Maxine McKew.

The tapestry becomes more intense and bizarre as it goes on, involving a whole range of federal Labor MPs. But what have they done about it? This is a bizarre situation. On Thursday, 21 May 2009, Peter Widders, the school principal, had a telephone conversation with the principal liaison officer, June Barr. That discussion about their disappointment with the way that this is heading goes on. Also on 21 May 2009, a letter was received from Maxine McKew MP in response to the copy of a letter to Julia Gillard, dated 30 April 2009, advising that no funds were available for a childcare facility; they have got the funds for a project that they do not want, yet they look at a childcare facility as an option and find that there are no funds for it.

On Wednesday, 27 May 2009 and Thursday, 28 May 2009, there is further evidence. Then, on 2 June, the school council president, the P&C president and others wrote as co-signatories to Verity Firth, the New South Wales education minister, advising of their desire to increase the classroom capacity of the school to meet community needs. They want two extra classrooms, and it goes on and on. They talk about further liaisons with Julia Gillard, the New South Wales state member and others, including the P&C public meeting just last week.

This is bizarre. It is absurd. The government should review entirely its Building the Education Revolution program. This is reckless spending at its worst, and this is just one example. There is now a Senate inquiry into this matter, and I call upon all members of the public, school communities, builders and others around the country to submit your examples of waste, mismanagement and reckless spending so that we can get to the bottom of this. That Senate inquiry is very important and that scrutiny is entirely proper. In that regard, I urge members of the public to be involved— (Time expired)