❓ A parliamentary question regarding the closure of Wubin Primary School and the allocation of funds to city rail projects, answered by the Minister for Education and Training who defends the decision based on student numbers and educational needs, while also criticising the previous government's record on school closures.
AnsweredQoN 428Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WUBIN PRIMARY SCHOOL - CLOSURE
I refer to the latest $50 million cost blow-out of the Mandurah railway. (1) Why is there endless funding for the city rail project but not enough money to keep the Wubin Primary School open? (2) What does the minister say to drought-affected families in Wubin who will soon be asked to rearrange their lives to send their children on a daily school bus journey of up to three hours per day? (3) Is the minister fully aware of the community anger in Wubin, and is he prepared to reconsider this planned closure? Mr M. McGOWAN
I refer to the latest $50 million cost blow-out of the Mandurah railway. (1) Why is there endless funding for the city rail project but not enough money to keep the Wubin Primary School open? (2) What does the minister say to drought-affected families in Wubin who will soon be asked to rearrange their lives to send their children on a daily school bus journey of up to three hours per day? (3) Is the minister fully aware of the community anger in Wubin, and is he prepared to reconsider this planned closure? Mr M. McGOWAN
AnswerView source ↗
I realise that the member for Merredin was not a member of Parliament during the term of the previous government. He was elected during the term of this government. He is only used to good government. I do not think the member was here a few weeks ago. When the last government was in office - a National-Liberal Party government - it closed twice as many schools in the country as this government has. In fact, it may have closed three times as many. At the same time, we have opened double the number of schools in the country as was the case under the last Liberal-National Party government. I was a little surprised that a member of the National Party would ask me a question about this issue. In fact, the former member for Merredin was the Deputy Premier of the government that closed three times as many schools as we have and opened half as many as we have in the country. (1)-(3) To the question of Wubin, from memory, that school now has 15 students. That number is predicted to fall to nine. A primary school that is roughly 20 kilometres away will meet the needs of those students. When it is predicted that a school will have nine students, we have to look at whether those students will get as good an education as they could at a primary school with far more students and far more teachers 20 kilometres away. The department made this decision based on the educational needs of the students in Wubin. I realise that people will be unhappy when these things happen. We have to act in the interests of students. The interests of those students are met by providing them with an education that has a bigger range of teachers, a better environment in which to mix with their peers and a wider range of resources. All those things are on offer at a bigger school. I did not make this decision; it was made by the department based upon the size of that school. Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
(1) Why is there endless funding for the city rail project but not enough money to keep the Wubin Primary School open? (2) What does the minister say to drought-affected families in Wubin who will soon be asked to rearrange their lives to send their children on a daily school bus journey of up to three hours per day? (3) Is the minister fully aware of the community anger in Wubin, and is he prepared to reconsider this planned closure? Mr M. McGOWAN replied: I realise that the member for Merredin was not a member of Parliament during the term of the previous government. He was elected during the term of this government. He is only used to good government. I do not think the member was here a few weeks ago. When the last government was in office - a National-Liberal Party government - it closed twice as many schools in the country as this government has. In fact, it may have closed three times as many. At the same time, we have opened double the number of schools in the country as was the case under the last Liberal-National Party government. I was a little surprised that a member of the National Party would ask me a question about this issue. In fact, the former member for Merredin was the Deputy Premier of the government that closed three times as many schools as we have and opened half as many as we have in the country. (1)-(3) To the question of Wubin, from memory, that school now has 15 students. That number is predicted to fall to nine. A primary school that is roughly 20 kilometres away will meet the needs of those students. When it is predicted that a school will have nine students, we have to look at whether those students will get as good an education as they could at a primary school with far more students and far more teachers 20 kilometres away. The department made this decision based on the educational needs of the students in Wubin. I realise that people will be unhappy when these things happen. We have to act in the interests of students. The interests of those students are met by providing them with an education that has a bigger range of teachers, a better environment in which to mix with their peers and a wider range of resources. All those things are on offer at a bigger school. I did not make this decision; it was made by the department based upon the size of that school. Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
(2) What does the minister say to drought-affected families in Wubin who will soon be asked to rearrange their lives to send their children on a daily school bus journey of up to three hours per day? (3) Is the minister fully aware of the community anger in Wubin, and is he prepared to reconsider this planned closure? Mr M. McGOWAN replied: I realise that the member for Merredin was not a member of Parliament during the term of the previous government. He was elected during the term of this government. He is only used to good government. I do not think the member was here a few weeks ago. When the last government was in office - a National-Liberal Party government - it closed twice as many schools in the country as this government has. In fact, it may have closed three times as many. At the same time, we have opened double the number of schools in the country as was the case under the last Liberal-National Party government. I was a little surprised that a member of the National Party would ask me a question about this issue. In fact, the former member for Merredin was the Deputy Premier of the government that closed three times as many schools as we have and opened half as many as we have in the country. (1)-(3) To the question of Wubin, from memory, that school now has 15 students. That number is predicted to fall to nine. A primary school that is roughly 20 kilometres away will meet the needs of those students. When it is predicted that a school will have nine students, we have to look at whether those students will get as good an education as they could at a primary school with far more students and far more teachers 20 kilometres away. The department made this decision based on the educational needs of the students in Wubin. I realise that people will be unhappy when these things happen. We have to act in the interests of students. The interests of those students are met by providing them with an education that has a bigger range of teachers, a better environment in which to mix with their peers and a wider range of resources. All those things are on offer at a bigger school. I did not make this decision; it was made by the department based upon the size of that school. Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
(3) Is the minister fully aware of the community anger in Wubin, and is he prepared to reconsider this planned closure? Mr M. McGOWAN replied: I realise that the member for Merredin was not a member of Parliament during the term of the previous government. He was elected during the term of this government. He is only used to good government. I do not think the member was here a few weeks ago. When the last government was in office - a National-Liberal Party government - it closed twice as many schools in the country as this government has. In fact, it may have closed three times as many. At the same time, we have opened double the number of schools in the country as was the case under the last Liberal-National Party government. I was a little surprised that a member of the National Party would ask me a question about this issue. In fact, the former member for Merredin was the Deputy Premier of the government that closed three times as many schools as we have and opened half as many as we have in the country. (1)-(3) To the question of Wubin, from memory, that school now has 15 students. That number is predicted to fall to nine. A primary school that is roughly 20 kilometres away will meet the needs of those students. When it is predicted that a school will have nine students, we have to look at whether those students will get as good an education as they could at a primary school with far more students and far more teachers 20 kilometres away. The department made this decision based on the educational needs of the students in Wubin. I realise that people will be unhappy when these things happen. We have to act in the interests of students. The interests of those students are met by providing them with an education that has a bigger range of teachers, a better environment in which to mix with their peers and a wider range of resources. All those things are on offer at a bigger school. I did not make this decision; it was made by the department based upon the size of that school. Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
Mr M. McGOWAN replied: I realise that the member for Merredin was not a member of Parliament during the term of the previous government. He was elected during the term of this government. He is only used to good government. I do not think the member was here a few weeks ago. When the last government was in office - a National-Liberal Party government - it closed twice as many schools in the country as this government has. In fact, it may have closed three times as many. At the same time, we have opened double the number of schools in the country as was the case under the last Liberal-National Party government. I was a little surprised that a member of the National Party would ask me a question about this issue. In fact, the former member for Merredin was the Deputy Premier of the government that closed three times as many schools as we have and opened half as many as we have in the country. (1)-(3) To the question of Wubin, from memory, that school now has 15 students. That number is predicted to fall to nine. A primary school that is roughly 20 kilometres away will meet the needs of those students. When it is predicted that a school will have nine students, we have to look at whether those students will get as good an education as they could at a primary school with far more students and far more teachers 20 kilometres away. The department made this decision based on the educational needs of the students in Wubin. I realise that people will be unhappy when these things happen. We have to act in the interests of students. The interests of those students are met by providing them with an education that has a bigger range of teachers, a better environment in which to mix with their peers and a wider range of resources. All those things are on offer at a bigger school. I did not make this decision; it was made by the department based upon the size of that school. Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
I realise that the member for Merredin was not a member of Parliament during the term of the previous government. He was elected during the term of this government. He is only used to good government. I do not think the member was here a few weeks ago. When the last government was in office - a National-Liberal Party government - it closed twice as many schools in the country as this government has. In fact, it may have closed three times as many. At the same time, we have opened double the number of schools in the country as was the case under the last Liberal-National Party government. I was a little surprised that a member of the National Party would ask me a question about this issue. In fact, the former member for Merredin was the Deputy Premier of the government that closed three times as many schools as we have and opened half as many as we have in the country. (1)-(3) To the question of Wubin, from memory, that school now has 15 students. That number is predicted to fall to nine. A primary school that is roughly 20 kilometres away will meet the needs of those students. When it is predicted that a school will have nine students, we have to look at whether those students will get as good an education as they could at a primary school with far more students and far more teachers 20 kilometres away. The department made this decision based on the educational needs of the students in Wubin. I realise that people will be unhappy when these things happen. We have to act in the interests of students. The interests of those students are met by providing them with an education that has a bigger range of teachers, a better environment in which to mix with their peers and a wider range of resources. All those things are on offer at a bigger school. I did not make this decision; it was made by the department based upon the size of that school. Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
(1)-(3) To the question of Wubin, from memory, that school now has 15 students. That number is predicted to fall to nine. A primary school that is roughly 20 kilometres away will meet the needs of those students. When it is predicted that a school will have nine students, we have to look at whether those students will get as good an education as they could at a primary school with far more students and far more teachers 20 kilometres away. The department made this decision based on the educational needs of the students in Wubin. I realise that people will be unhappy when these things happen. We have to act in the interests of students. The interests of those students are met by providing them with an education that has a bigger range of teachers, a better environment in which to mix with their peers and a wider range of resources. All those things are on offer at a bigger school. I did not make this decision; it was made by the department based upon the size of that school. Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
(1) Why is there endless funding for the city rail project but not enough money to keep the Wubin Primary School open? (2) What does the minister say to drought-affected families in Wubin who will soon be asked to rearrange their lives to send their children on a daily school bus journey of up to three hours per day? (3) Is the minister fully aware of the community anger in Wubin, and is he prepared to reconsider this planned closure? Mr M. McGOWAN replied: I realise that the member for Merredin was not a member of Parliament during the term of the previous government. He was elected during the term of this government. He is only used to good government. I do not think the member was here a few weeks ago. When the last government was in office - a National-Liberal Party government - it closed twice as many schools in the country as this government has. In fact, it may have closed three times as many. At the same time, we have opened double the number of schools in the country as was the case under the last Liberal-National Party government. I was a little surprised that a member of the National Party would ask me a question about this issue. In fact, the former member for Merredin was the Deputy Premier of the government that closed three times as many schools as we have and opened half as many as we have in the country. (1)-(3) To the question of Wubin, from memory, that school now has 15 students. That number is predicted to fall to nine. A primary school that is roughly 20 kilometres away will meet the needs of those students. When it is predicted that a school will have nine students, we have to look at whether those students will get as good an education as they could at a primary school with far more students and far more teachers 20 kilometres away. The department made this decision based on the educational needs of the students in Wubin. I realise that people will be unhappy when these things happen. We have to act in the interests of students. The interests of those students are met by providing them with an education that has a bigger range of teachers, a better environment in which to mix with their peers and a wider range of resources. All those things are on offer at a bigger school. I did not make this decision; it was made by the department based upon the size of that school. Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
(2) What does the minister say to drought-affected families in Wubin who will soon be asked to rearrange their lives to send their children on a daily school bus journey of up to three hours per day? (3) Is the minister fully aware of the community anger in Wubin, and is he prepared to reconsider this planned closure? Mr M. McGOWAN replied: I realise that the member for Merredin was not a member of Parliament during the term of the previous government. He was elected during the term of this government. He is only used to good government. I do not think the member was here a few weeks ago. When the last government was in office - a National-Liberal Party government - it closed twice as many schools in the country as this government has. In fact, it may have closed three times as many. At the same time, we have opened double the number of schools in the country as was the case under the last Liberal-National Party government. I was a little surprised that a member of the National Party would ask me a question about this issue. In fact, the former member for Merredin was the Deputy Premier of the government that closed three times as many schools as we have and opened half as many as we have in the country. (1)-(3) To the question of Wubin, from memory, that school now has 15 students. That number is predicted to fall to nine. A primary school that is roughly 20 kilometres away will meet the needs of those students. When it is predicted that a school will have nine students, we have to look at whether those students will get as good an education as they could at a primary school with far more students and far more teachers 20 kilometres away. The department made this decision based on the educational needs of the students in Wubin. I realise that people will be unhappy when these things happen. We have to act in the interests of students. The interests of those students are met by providing them with an education that has a bigger range of teachers, a better environment in which to mix with their peers and a wider range of resources. All those things are on offer at a bigger school. I did not make this decision; it was made by the department based upon the size of that school. Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
(3) Is the minister fully aware of the community anger in Wubin, and is he prepared to reconsider this planned closure? Mr M. McGOWAN replied: I realise that the member for Merredin was not a member of Parliament during the term of the previous government. He was elected during the term of this government. He is only used to good government. I do not think the member was here a few weeks ago. When the last government was in office - a National-Liberal Party government - it closed twice as many schools in the country as this government has. In fact, it may have closed three times as many. At the same time, we have opened double the number of schools in the country as was the case under the last Liberal-National Party government. I was a little surprised that a member of the National Party would ask me a question about this issue. In fact, the former member for Merredin was the Deputy Premier of the government that closed three times as many schools as we have and opened half as many as we have in the country. (1)-(3) To the question of Wubin, from memory, that school now has 15 students. That number is predicted to fall to nine. A primary school that is roughly 20 kilometres away will meet the needs of those students. When it is predicted that a school will have nine students, we have to look at whether those students will get as good an education as they could at a primary school with far more students and far more teachers 20 kilometres away. The department made this decision based on the educational needs of the students in Wubin. I realise that people will be unhappy when these things happen. We have to act in the interests of students. The interests of those students are met by providing them with an education that has a bigger range of teachers, a better environment in which to mix with their peers and a wider range of resources. All those things are on offer at a bigger school. I did not make this decision; it was made by the department based upon the size of that school. Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
Mr M. McGOWAN replied: I realise that the member for Merredin was not a member of Parliament during the term of the previous government. He was elected during the term of this government. He is only used to good government. I do not think the member was here a few weeks ago. When the last government was in office - a National-Liberal Party government - it closed twice as many schools in the country as this government has. In fact, it may have closed three times as many. At the same time, we have opened double the number of schools in the country as was the case under the last Liberal-National Party government. I was a little surprised that a member of the National Party would ask me a question about this issue. In fact, the former member for Merredin was the Deputy Premier of the government that closed three times as many schools as we have and opened half as many as we have in the country. (1)-(3) To the question of Wubin, from memory, that school now has 15 students. That number is predicted to fall to nine. A primary school that is roughly 20 kilometres away will meet the needs of those students. When it is predicted that a school will have nine students, we have to look at whether those students will get as good an education as they could at a primary school with far more students and far more teachers 20 kilometres away. The department made this decision based on the educational needs of the students in Wubin. I realise that people will be unhappy when these things happen. We have to act in the interests of students. The interests of those students are met by providing them with an education that has a bigger range of teachers, a better environment in which to mix with their peers and a wider range of resources. All those things are on offer at a bigger school. I did not make this decision; it was made by the department based upon the size of that school. Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
I realise that the member for Merredin was not a member of Parliament during the term of the previous government. He was elected during the term of this government. He is only used to good government. I do not think the member was here a few weeks ago. When the last government was in office - a National-Liberal Party government - it closed twice as many schools in the country as this government has. In fact, it may have closed three times as many. At the same time, we have opened double the number of schools in the country as was the case under the last Liberal-National Party government. I was a little surprised that a member of the National Party would ask me a question about this issue. In fact, the former member for Merredin was the Deputy Premier of the government that closed three times as many schools as we have and opened half as many as we have in the country. (1)-(3) To the question of Wubin, from memory, that school now has 15 students. That number is predicted to fall to nine. A primary school that is roughly 20 kilometres away will meet the needs of those students. When it is predicted that a school will have nine students, we have to look at whether those students will get as good an education as they could at a primary school with far more students and far more teachers 20 kilometres away. The department made this decision based on the educational needs of the students in Wubin. I realise that people will be unhappy when these things happen. We have to act in the interests of students. The interests of those students are met by providing them with an education that has a bigger range of teachers, a better environment in which to mix with their peers and a wider range of resources. All those things are on offer at a bigger school. I did not make this decision; it was made by the department based upon the size of that school. Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
(1)-(3) To the question of Wubin, from memory, that school now has 15 students. That number is predicted to fall to nine. A primary school that is roughly 20 kilometres away will meet the needs of those students. When it is predicted that a school will have nine students, we have to look at whether those students will get as good an education as they could at a primary school with far more students and far more teachers 20 kilometres away. The department made this decision based on the educational needs of the students in Wubin. I realise that people will be unhappy when these things happen. We have to act in the interests of students. The interests of those students are met by providing them with an education that has a bigger range of teachers, a better environment in which to mix with their peers and a wider range of resources. All those things are on offer at a bigger school. I did not make this decision; it was made by the department based upon the size of that school. Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
Mr P.D. Omodei : You’re making excuses. Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
Mr M. McGOWAN : I am not making excuses; I support the decision. It was the right decision to make in these circumstances. If the member for Merredin thinks that those children are better served by a school with nine students versus a proper functioning primary school 20 kilometres away, he is wrong.
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