Ms TIERNEY (Western Victoria)– During the last parliamentary sitting week I called on the Napthine government to stop ignoring the Timboon community and make good on its promise to fund the Timboon P-12 stage 1 redevelopment. In an article recently published in the Warrnambool Standard the member for Polwarth in the other place, Terry Mulder, made the claim that it is the previous state Labor government’s fault that the Timboon P-12 has not received funding. This is an extraordinary claim, considering that the previous state Labor government approved funding for the school prior to the 2010 election, with a $6.5 million stage 1 redevelopment to start in June 2011. The coalition went on to win the 2010 election, and since that day it has ignored the Timboon P-12 school and the Timboon community.
The approved funding was rescinded by the current Napthine coalition government — the same government that has handed down three state budgets yet has not committed one cent to the Timboon P-12 school. The fact remains that if the Labor Party had won the 2010 election, stage 1 of the Timboon P-12 redevelopment would now be complete. Mr Mulder has no-one to blame but himself and his government, a fact he must be aware of. It is clear that the Timboon community is aware of it.
I had the opportunity to visit the school last Thursday, and it was clear that the principal, her staff and the students are doing a remarkable job in the facilities they are in, facilities that require immediate maintenance and rectification, if not a complete redevelopment, so they can form a cohesive educational environment.
I would like to thank Ms Moorfield and the school community for their hospitality. I congratulate them on their continued and tireless efforts to make the government do the right thing by these students and the local community.