Friday, 7 September 2018

Families across Phillip Island and San Remo will get greater access to secondary education, with a re-elected Andrews Labor Government to deliver a new junior secondary campus in the region.

Labor will invest $24.7 million to build a new junior secondary campus for families across the Bass Coast and build a new indoor competition-grade gymnasium at Cowes Primary School.

We know almost 500 students are travelling every day to Wonthaggi Secondary College from across areas such as Phillip Island, San Remo, Coronet Bay, Corinella and Grantville. More than 250 of these students are from years 7-9. This new campus will mean students have a new junior secondary school closer to home.

We will also run community consultation to determine the most appropriate location for the new campus in the Phillip Island region and conduct a review of provision across the area to the north-west of Wonthaggi.

The Labor Government has already invested $31 million for the new Wonthaggi Secondary College senior campus, but there’s more work to do and only Labor will deliver the facilities students and staff need to achieve their best.

Every child should have a good local school and the chance to succeed in life, and only a re-elected Andrews Labor Government will deliver that for kids across Phillip Island and San Remo. The Liberals slashed $1 billion out of our education system and left schools to crumble and decay across the state.

The Labor Government has invested more than $3.8 billion to build 70 new schools and upgrade 1,300 schools across the state since coming to office in 2014.

That means thousands of Victorian kids now go to school every day and learn in new classrooms with better technology and facilities, like new gyms and science labs. It’s also helped create 5,000 construction jobs for Victorians right around our state.

Labor will always make sure this part of Victoria has the services that locals deserve. Unlike Matthew Guy, we’ll never hand over $3.5 million in taxpayers’ money to Liberal Party mates to cover up dodgy development deals to turn farmland into apartments and would have wrecked the character of the town.

Quotes attributable to Premier Daniel Andrews

“We’re investing in the schools and services this local community desperately needs, while the Liberals plan to turn the Bass Coast into the Gold Coast.”

“Only Labor will build the state-of-the-art high school that locals need – so everyone can get a first-class education, closer to home.”

Quote attributable to Minister for Education James Merlino

“All the Liberals have ever cared about in Bass is rezoning land on Phillip Island to turn a profit for their mates. We will get on with building the junior secondary school Phillip Island families deserve.”

Quote attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing

“Phillip Island families deserve access to a great local secondary school and that is exactly what we will deliver.”