Public Works Committee: Port Augusta Secondary School Redevelopment

Mr DULUK (Waite) (11:48): I move:

That the 132^nd report of the committee, entitled Port Augusta Secondary School Redevelopment Project, be noted.

Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, Port Augusta Secondary School is located—

The ACTING SPEAKER (Ms Bedford): You do not have to call me 'madam'; Acting Speaker is enough.

Mr DULUK: It reminds me of the Fifty-Third Parliament. Port Augusta Secondary School is located on Stirling Road, Port Augusta, within the Port Augusta City Council. Port Augusta Secondary School was established in 1995 through the amalgamation of the Augusta Park High School and the Port Augusta High School. It is the only public secondary school in Port Augusta.

Port Augusta Secondary School was allocated funding of $4.6 million (excluding GST) as part of the Department for Education's capital works program announced in February 2019. In November 2020, further funding of $2 million (excluding GST) was allocated, bringing the total project funding to $6.6 million. The proposed redevelopment of Port Augusta Secondary School will consist of the demolition of existing infrastructure and new works to accommodate approximately 900 students on the Port Augusta Secondary School site to cater for enrolment growth, including the transition of year 7 into high school in 2022. The Port Augusta Secondary School redevelopment project will include the following scope of works:

construction of a new two-storey building to provide general learning areas, flexible learning areas for technical studies, food, technology and art, amenities, office space and staff areas;

demolition of an existing building; and

provision of additional car park spaces.

The redevelopment works at Port Augusta Secondary School will be staged, with construction expected to commence in February 2021, with completion expected in December 2021. I hope they are almost complete.

The committee examined written and oral evidence in relation to this project and received assurances that the appropriate consultation in relation to this project had been undertaken. The committee is satisfied that the proposal has been subject to the appropriate agency consultation and meets the criteria for examination of projects as described in the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991. Based on the evidence considered, and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public works.

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Frome) (11:51): I, too, would like to quickly talk about the public works on the Port Augusta Secondary School. I would like to talk about this great school, which was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of Augusta Park High School and Port Augusta High School. The amalgamation of these two schools on the one site allowed for a far better education for those students attending the public high school.

As members are well aware, this school is the only public high school in Port Augusta and needs to be at the very top level for those students attending, plus for the attraction of new young students coming out of primary schools. This will allow them to see a greater facility with the very best buildings and greater educational opportunities. As most people here know, I lived in Port Augusta previously for my employment at the time. I also had the opportunity to operate a business in Port Augusta.

At that time, there were two high schools; however, with this expenditure—and I congratulate the Public Works Committee on this—the existing Port Augusta Secondary School will provide the very best for those students attending. This redevelopment will allow for the demolition of some existing infrastructure which resulted in $4.6 million allocated in February 2019 and a further $2 million in February 2020, bringing the budget to $6.6 million. From my observation when I was up there, some of the buildings were very old. No matter who we are, we would like to also see the greatest opportunities for our young kids.

From my discussions, the whole of these works were very closely discussed with the local people and have the full support of Port Augusta and its surrounding communities. I am sure it also has the support of the education department, all the students, the local member and the council who would have had involvement in this. The project will allow for future enrolments, including the transition of year 7s to high school in 2022. It will give not only the existing students but, very importantly, the new enrolments, the very best opportunities for their educational future. Again, I thank the members of the Public Works Committee for their consideration and approval of this great project. I commend it to the house.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (11:53): It is a huge pleasure to rise to speak on this project. I thank our government, particularly the education minister, for funding this $7.7 million project. It was great to be at the Port Augusta Secondary School graduation on Friday last week, and I can tell you that everybody in this school community is extremely excited about this project.

Of course, the students who graduated on Friday are well aware that they will not get to benefit from it personally. In fact, they have been living with the construction zone, but they are incredibly glad nonetheless for the students who will follow them. Acting Principal, Simon Owens, was glowing about the work that is being done on site. The Minister for Education has actually visited Port Augusta Secondary School twice this year. I am going to do everything I can to get him there again as early as possible in the new year, but I am very grateful for that.

Port Augusta Secondary School achieves results far better than many people would expect, to be perfectly blunt. The people of Port Augusta know what a fantastic institution this is, but there are many people outside of Port Augusta who are not aware of what a great job it does with regard to providing a quality education for high school students in Port Augusta.

We have six public primary schools and one public high school in Port Augusta, as well as two Christian schools, which play a very important role in the educational community, and the special school in Port Augusta. Those six primary schools, and in some cases the primary schools of the other two Christian non-government schools, feed into Port Augusta Secondary School, and what Port Augusta Secondary School does so well is to offer a range of educational opportunities.

A range of educational opportunities includes not only the normal academic style, which we all expect from a high-calibre secondary school in our state, but also a wide range of more flexible and broader educational opportunities. In that respect, I think about pathways to trades, I think about pathways to traineeships, I think about pathways to apprenticeships and, in many cases, the opportunities to undergo apprenticeships while still doing some secondary schooling education.

Importantly, there are partnerships between the Port Augusta Secondary School and other secondary schools around the Mid North and Upper Spencer Gulf region. The Pichi Richi Trade Training Centre is a tremendous initiative where the Port Augusta Secondary School, Orroroo and Peterborough high schools, and others, come together so that they can offer particular training and educational opportunities on their own campuses, and the students are actually able to move between the campuses as and when appropriate.

Some students can get everything they need at essentially their home high school, but for other students it is fantastic to be able to pick up the educational opportunities available from other high schools while they still officially attend their own high school. It is an absolutely outstanding development. This project is there for everyone to see because, as it happens, the work that is going on is on the main road, the Victoria Parade side of the school, so that everybody who comes through Port Augusta is well aware of the fantastic job that our government and our education department are doing.

I cannot support this project enough. I know that the entire Port Augusta community, including members of the other schools, appreciate it as well. This will do wonders for the educational and employment opportunities for young people in Port Augusta for decades to come.

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (11:58): I rise to contribute a few words, especially any time there is an investment in schools in regional South Australia. I support the previous government, which had a fantastic record, especially in my electorate, in the APY lands and in Roxby Downs, and of course with the big initiative in Whyalla, the $100 million school that will be open and full of students at the beginning of next year.

It is always good to see improvements to our schools in the regions. Port Augusta has had it for some time now and Whyalla has the one high school model, because the one high school model is a far more sensible approach in some of our regional communities. Of course, Whyalla had multiple high schools and a model that I do not think served our students and teachers that well, with the two junior high schools feeding into the senior high school. Port Augusta had moved to the one school model a lot earlier than Whyalla, so hopefully Whyalla is going to get benefits out of that.

There are still schools in my electorate that need assistance and upgrades. The one that comes to mind readily is Quorn: some expenditure in Quorn would not go amiss. Of course, there are lots of other sites in such a vast electorate where investment is needed in the facilities. I was very proud to see just the other day, with the announcements of a range of policies on the part of the opposition—and hopefully we will be the government next year—a range of very good educational policies, some of which will have a positive impact in regional communities. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.