❓ The Minister for Education provides an update on the Cook Labor government's commitment to deliver a new East Perth primary school, detailing legislative steps to enable the project and its benefits.
AnsweredQoN 516Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
EAST PERTH PRIMARY
SCHOOL
516. Mr S.A. MILLMAN to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
ongoing commitment to ensuring that every Western Australian student has access
to quality education facilities. Can the minister update the house on this
government's commitment to deliver a new East Perth primary school and
advise how the new school will unlock benefits for East Perth and surrounding
areas?
SCHOOL
516. Mr S.A. MILLMAN to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
ongoing commitment to ensuring that every Western Australian student has access
to quality education facilities. Can the minister update the house on this
government's commitment to deliver a new East Perth primary school and
advise how the new school will unlock benefits for East Perth and surrounding
areas?
AnswerView source ↗
Yes, I can provide that information
to the member for Mount Lawley, who has a very keen interest in education
statewide, in the inner-city area and in his electorate. Today, I gave notice
of the introduction of a bill that will come to this house as part of our
commitment to build an inner-city primary school in East Perth. This has been a
commitment of both the state government and the City of Perth over a number of
years. The City of Perth had previously been in lockstep with the state government
in advocating for a primary school in the inner city. The bill that will be
brought before the house is necessary for us to progress the inner-city primary
school.
We identified the Queens Gardens car
park as the most appropriate site in the inner city. That site is currently
governed by legislation and a state agreement. The Chevron-Hilton Hotel
Agreement Act means that the site can be used only as a car park. It cannot be
used for anything else—nothing at all but a car park. The legislation
that we are bringing to Parliament will repeal the act and terminate the
agreement. It will also transfer lots B and C to the state for us to build the
primary school. Lot A, which has a development potential of $27.2 million, will
remain with the city. At the moment, it is a
car park; that is all it is. We are unlocking that, providing a $27.2 million
benefit to the city and putting a vertical primary school on lots B and
C. It will be the biggest single investment in any school in Western Australian history. The effect of this will be an
economic and social benefit of at least $ 60 million to the city, plus
the ongoing benefit of having first-class facilities to educate students of
parents who reside in the city or nearby. That is what the bill before the
house will allow the state to do if it is passed. It will allow the state to
invest in the education of students living in the city and surrounding areas. I
also add that we are providing $4.2 million
to the city as an acknowledgement of the car parking revenue that will be lost
from lots B and C during the construction of the primary school.
In April last year, I stood in the
Queens Gardens car park with the then Minister for Planning, who is now the
Deputy Premier; Treasurer, the Minister for Lands and the local member. We
stood there with the Lord Mayor of Perth, and the Lord Mayor congratulated the
state on this announcement. He said that he had long advocated for the need for
an inner-city primary school. He said that this was great for the city. Members
do not have to take my word for it or try to remember what he said. If we look
at a post he put on social media on 14 March 2023, we see that he said —
This has been a significant issue for
the inner-city community for some time now. Plain and simple, the East Perth area needs a primary school. It's
been something this @CityofPerth Council had been advocating for since
our election in 2020. It's time this project was moved along.
That is what we are doing. We are
doing that. We had to bring this legislation into Parliament because the City
of Perth would not allow us to move it along. I should also add that the Lord
Mayor, who is now also the Liberal candidate for Churchlands, stated in his
election paraphernalia for the seat of Churchlands that every child deserves a first-class
education, and well-resourced schools and modern facilities are necessary in
laying the foundation for that. That is what we are doing. I understand that he
is now the Liberal candidate for Churchlands and that there will be some politics,
but if I thought that any issue was above politics and could have brought the
City of Perth and the Lord Mayor together with us, it would have been building
an inner-city primary school. We are doing it to benefit the students of that
area. As the Minister for Education, I have an obligation to do my best to
provide appropriate facilities to educate our children. That is what we are
doing here, and it is very disappointing that the Lord Mayor and the City of
Perth have taken this position.
I will add a couple more matters
before I sit down.
Dr D.J. Honey : It's
not a second reading speech.
Dr A.D. BUTI : I will add just
a couple more matters. It may be uncomfortable for the member for Cottesloe.
Since we announced this in April last year, I have never got into a personal
stoush with the Lord Mayor. He decided to get personal with cabinet ministers.
He tried to make fun of the Italian surnames of the Deputy Premier and me. I have
never once criticised him personally in this respect, but that will become harder
and harder when he keeps attacking my cabinet colleagues and me. I should add
that he responded today by saying that this is outrageous and that we are
engaging in bullying behaviour. It is really interesting that the Lord Mayor
should talk about bullying. I will leave that for a moment.
The member for Vasse has come out in
his support, saying that what we are doing is appalling and mean spirited, and we should give him a fair deal. So that the
member for Vasse understands, because I do not think that she is over the details, I again say that this is a site that can be used only as a car
park at the moment. We will remove that restriction, invest $150 million in a state-of-the-art
vertical primary school and allow the city to retain lot A, which has a development potential of $27.2 million, and
the city wants us to pay it $40 million extra to do that. If the member looks at the whole contribution and the ongoing economic benefit, we are
investing over $200 million. Member for Vasse, would you prefer that we give —
The SPEAKER : Minister, ask no
more questions to the people opposite. I will ask you to conclude your answer
quickly, please.
Dr
A.D. BUTI : Would any member
prefer it if we gave the city an extra $40 million, over and above this
significant investment, so we could not use it to improve schools in
their electorate?
Member for Roe, I will be incredibly
interested in your position because you know what Esperance Senior High School
needs. Would you prefer that I could not do —
The SPEAKER : Minister, you
are going on to a whole new area and a whole new person and school now. Please
conclude your answer.
Dr A.D. BUTI : What I am
saying, Madam Speaker, is that if this state is required to lay out another $40
million, over and above what we are already investing in this area, that money
cannot be put into building a new school or the major redevelopment of our
schools. We all know about opportunity cost in economics. If we put money in this area, we cannot put it in that area. It will
be for members of the opposition to work out where they stand on this —whether
they want to play politics or whether they agree that we should be providing a facility
for students who are raised in the City of Perth area.
In concluding, I add that this plan
is complying with what the city wants. It wants to have a vibrant, liveable
city, with an increasing population. If it is going to have that, it has to
have infrastructure, services and schools.
to the member for Mount Lawley, who has a very keen interest in education
statewide, in the inner-city area and in his electorate. Today, I gave notice
of the introduction of a bill that will come to this house as part of our
commitment to build an inner-city primary school in East Perth. This has been a
commitment of both the state government and the City of Perth over a number of
years. The City of Perth had previously been in lockstep with the state government
in advocating for a primary school in the inner city. The bill that will be
brought before the house is necessary for us to progress the inner-city primary
school.
We identified the Queens Gardens car
park as the most appropriate site in the inner city. That site is currently
governed by legislation and a state agreement. The Chevron-Hilton Hotel
Agreement Act means that the site can be used only as a car park. It cannot be
used for anything else—nothing at all but a car park. The legislation
that we are bringing to Parliament will repeal the act and terminate the
agreement. It will also transfer lots B and C to the state for us to build the
primary school. Lot A, which has a development potential of $27.2 million, will
remain with the city. At the moment, it is a
car park; that is all it is. We are unlocking that, providing a $27.2 million
benefit to the city and putting a vertical primary school on lots B and
C. It will be the biggest single investment in any school in Western Australian history. The effect of this will be an
economic and social benefit of at least $ 60 million to the city, plus
the ongoing benefit of having first-class facilities to educate students of
parents who reside in the city or nearby. That is what the bill before the
house will allow the state to do if it is passed. It will allow the state to
invest in the education of students living in the city and surrounding areas. I
also add that we are providing $4.2 million
to the city as an acknowledgement of the car parking revenue that will be lost
from lots B and C during the construction of the primary school.
In April last year, I stood in the
Queens Gardens car park with the then Minister for Planning, who is now the
Deputy Premier; Treasurer, the Minister for Lands and the local member. We
stood there with the Lord Mayor of Perth, and the Lord Mayor congratulated the
state on this announcement. He said that he had long advocated for the need for
an inner-city primary school. He said that this was great for the city. Members
do not have to take my word for it or try to remember what he said. If we look
at a post he put on social media on 14 March 2023, we see that he said —
This has been a significant issue for
the inner-city community for some time now. Plain and simple, the East Perth area needs a primary school. It's
been something this @CityofPerth Council had been advocating for since
our election in 2020. It's time this project was moved along.
That is what we are doing. We are
doing that. We had to bring this legislation into Parliament because the City
of Perth would not allow us to move it along. I should also add that the Lord
Mayor, who is now also the Liberal candidate for Churchlands, stated in his
election paraphernalia for the seat of Churchlands that every child deserves a first-class
education, and well-resourced schools and modern facilities are necessary in
laying the foundation for that. That is what we are doing. I understand that he
is now the Liberal candidate for Churchlands and that there will be some politics,
but if I thought that any issue was above politics and could have brought the
City of Perth and the Lord Mayor together with us, it would have been building
an inner-city primary school. We are doing it to benefit the students of that
area. As the Minister for Education, I have an obligation to do my best to
provide appropriate facilities to educate our children. That is what we are
doing here, and it is very disappointing that the Lord Mayor and the City of
Perth have taken this position.
I will add a couple more matters
before I sit down.
Dr D.J. Honey : It's
not a second reading speech.
Dr A.D. BUTI : I will add just
a couple more matters. It may be uncomfortable for the member for Cottesloe.
Since we announced this in April last year, I have never got into a personal
stoush with the Lord Mayor. He decided to get personal with cabinet ministers.
He tried to make fun of the Italian surnames of the Deputy Premier and me. I have
never once criticised him personally in this respect, but that will become harder
and harder when he keeps attacking my cabinet colleagues and me. I should add
that he responded today by saying that this is outrageous and that we are
engaging in bullying behaviour. It is really interesting that the Lord Mayor
should talk about bullying. I will leave that for a moment.
The member for Vasse has come out in
his support, saying that what we are doing is appalling and mean spirited, and we should give him a fair deal. So that the
member for Vasse understands, because I do not think that she is over the details, I again say that this is a site that can be used only as a car
park at the moment. We will remove that restriction, invest $150 million in a state-of-the-art
vertical primary school and allow the city to retain lot A, which has a development potential of $27.2 million, and
the city wants us to pay it $40 million extra to do that. If the member looks at the whole contribution and the ongoing economic benefit, we are
investing over $200 million. Member for Vasse, would you prefer that we give —
The SPEAKER : Minister, ask no
more questions to the people opposite. I will ask you to conclude your answer
quickly, please.
Dr
A.D. BUTI : Would any member
prefer it if we gave the city an extra $40 million, over and above this
significant investment, so we could not use it to improve schools in
their electorate?
Member for Roe, I will be incredibly
interested in your position because you know what Esperance Senior High School
needs. Would you prefer that I could not do —
The SPEAKER : Minister, you
are going on to a whole new area and a whole new person and school now. Please
conclude your answer.
Dr A.D. BUTI : What I am
saying, Madam Speaker, is that if this state is required to lay out another $40
million, over and above what we are already investing in this area, that money
cannot be put into building a new school or the major redevelopment of our
schools. We all know about opportunity cost in economics. If we put money in this area, we cannot put it in that area. It will
be for members of the opposition to work out where they stand on this —whether
they want to play politics or whether they agree that we should be providing a facility
for students who are raised in the City of Perth area.
In concluding, I add that this plan
is complying with what the city wants. It wants to have a vibrant, liveable
city, with an increasing population. If it is going to have that, it has to
have infrastructure, services and schools.
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