Grievance Debate

Morialta Electorate

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:13): I am really pleased to be able to congratulate four new principals who have commenced their terms in schools in the Morialta electorate this year. I have been pleased in the recent weeks, particularly since school began, to visit those principals, and I want to take this opportunity in the house to congratulate them on their appointments, to welcome them again to the roles that they play in the Morialta electorate and to express my sincere enthusiasm for the work they are going to do to support the children and young people whose education they now take the stewardship for.

At Morialta Secondary College, I congratulate Roley Coulter. Roley Coulter has held this role for some time. The thing that has changed this year is that there are now students at Morialta Secondary College—170 or so of them—and as of the beginning of last week they have now taken possession of their exceptional new facilities on St Bernards Road in the old middle campus at Norwood Morialta High School.

The new facilities, which are completed for the sufficient support of the year 7s and which will be completed in full at the end of next year, are spectacular. Those students are loving it and I congratulate Roley for the way that he has not only managed the foundations and establishment of a new school but also managed four weeks where the students of that school and staff had to operate out at Magill uni. I think Roley is as relieved as we all are that they were able to finish the building in time for the beginning of week 5 because it would have been a lot more difficult to do that transition once the university students had returned from their lengthy summer break.

I would also like to congratulate Belinda Smith, the new principal at Highbury Primary School, an experienced principal who comes from having served in other schools in the north-east, and I know that Highbury Primary School has welcomed her well and will continue to do so. I note the significant work and the great work done by Frank Mittiga at Highbury and the range of the other schools for which he was the principal during previous tenures.

At Saint Ignatius' College, I welcome again Barbara Watkins. Barbara is joining us from New South Wales for one year and was previously a principal of Loreto schools in New South Wales. She has taken Saint Ignatius this year as it transitions to its next principal; I understand they are doing a longer search. She has already been very much appreciated by that school community for the experience that she brings, her deep insight into the needs of students and young people. Particularly for this year I think she is going to enjoy her time at Saint Ignatius Athelstone, and we are glad that she is here.

Finally, on this note I want to congratulate Emily Brookes, the new principal at Torrens Valley Christian School. Emily Brookes has been working at Torrens Valley Christian School for more than a decade as a maths teacher, as a leader, as a deputy principal, as an acting principal at one point, and now she has taken the reins as principal. Indeed, Mr Acting Speaker—and welcome to you in this role too—I think Emily Brookes has established her credentials extremely well within that school community, an important school community that has great confidence in her going forward. To all of those four new principals, serving the Morialta community, I say congratulations.

I would like to take the opportunity today to congratulate and thank Professor Denis Ralph for his decades of service to education, and most recently through Catholic Education, ahead of his retirement as the Chair of the Commission for Catholic Schools in South Australia. It has been announced that on 19 May Denis Ralph will step down. He has done exemplary service to the Catholic schooling system in South Australia through his advocacy and his coordination of the board of Catholic Education in South Australia.

As Minister for Education, I told his principals whenever I saw them that not a month would go by without a series of phone calls and letters and meeting requests from Professor Ralph, arguing fervently and very forcefully and persuasively for the schools in the system he had responsibility for. I know that Dr Neil McGoran, the chief executive of Catholic Education, and Denis were also a formidable team for previous ministers for education before I arrived, as I trust they have been for the new minister since the March election last year.

Denis Ralph's service prior to being in this role included being the director of Aquinas College, the deputy DG of education in New South Wales and under Rob Lucas no less the director-general of the education department here in South Australia, always seeking to serve students. We thank him for that service. We also wish well John Neate, who has been announced as the new Chair of the Commission for Catholic Schools. John has worked for 30 years in catholic education, including as principal at Kildare and Cabra amongst other roles, and I look forward to working with him for the next three years in our opposition term and hopefully after that as the next government of South Australia. I wish him well in that role and look forward to working with him.