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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
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Parliamentary Committees

PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE: CRAIGMORE HIGH SCHOOL

Ms CICCARELLO (Norwood) (11:02): I move:

That the 274th report of the committee, entitled Craigmore High School Redevelopment, be noted.

Today I would like to report on the Craigmore High School, which was opened in 1970 to cope with the rapid increase in enrolments as a result of the development and expansion of industry in the Elizabeth area during the 1960s. The proposed upgrade of the school involves the redevelopment of the school at an estimated cost of $4.42 million (excluding GST) to accommodate a maximum of 900 students.

The development is predominantly within existing buildings; however, new construction in the performing arts area is proposed to provide a contemporary feel to the school. Administration and teaching spaces will include a re-orientation of the general office and main entry to provide a visible gateway and main entrance to the school and a new separate student foyer and entry directly off the main quadrangle. There will be a better connection between the general office and student reception back-of-house areas. A general rationalisation of office areas and staff preparation and two new senior student classrooms will also occur.

The redevelopment will also provide new resource centre facilities and three common teaching spaces. The new library layout provides excellent sight lines from the reception, office and work areas, with an open-plan teaching space and connected staffrooms. A covered link-way will address the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act and also become a feature entry to the new resource centre.

The existing shelter shed will be redeveloped to provide a new performing arts facility. It will house the music department, with two permanent music teaching rooms plus two practice rooms and a staff preparation area overlooking the main courtyard area. The existing shed structure will be refurbished into a new multipurpose space, which can be divided into two drama studios or integrated to form one performance space with theatrical lighting, control box and tiered seating.

The existing canteen will be significantly improved by creating a new external servery and rationalising the internal layout. A new canopy will create a shaded outdoor dining space and feature for the quadrangle. The replacement of the site water mains will address the repeated failure of the system. Removal of surplus accommodation will reduce long-term maintenance costs, provide space for the future expansion of on-site parking, and improve the aesthetic appeal of the site.

A staged construction program has been developed in consultation with the school to minimise disruption and ensure smooth school operations. Temporary fencing will be erected to limit access by both students and staff during the course of construction works. However, there will be times when a crossover of contractor/staff and students will occur, and appropriate management procedures will be put in place to suit those requirements. General teaching facilities services will not be affected, other than requiring temporary relocation within existing facilities.

Initiatives include maximising the existing structures' thermal performance potential when refurbishing existing buildings, maximising daylight and natural ventilation opportunities in the new extension and installing high efficiency T5 lighting. Best practice passive design elements are incorporated into the design of the new building. The redevelopment aims to provide modern, efficient and functional areas for the effective delivery of education to the community of Craigmore. The key drivers are to:

upgrade accommodation and services for the school, including removal of surplus accommodation; and

address non-compliance of existing facilities and associated risks.

Enrolments are expected to increase to approximately 900 and remain constant at that level.

Three options were considered. The preferred option will result in the immediate redevelopment and minimise potential capital escalation cost if the project were to be deferred. All of the issues currently being faced by Craigmore High School will be resolved and will ensure the provision of a facility that would meet the current and future needs of the school.

Construction commenced in November 2007 and is expected to be completed by December 2008. The project will provide modern upgraded educational accommodation, meet legislative compliance requirements and deliver DECS benchmark accommodation for the secondary school students. In particular, it will:

allow students to experience a variety of teaching methodologies;

provide opportunities for enhanced professional learning for all staff;

improve the amenity of the site for the wider community; and

aesthetically improve the presentation of the site.

So, based upon the evidence submitted to it, pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public work.

Mr PISONI (Unley) (11:07): I too support this project. It is great to see this type of work going on, particularly in our most disadvantaged suburbs. As the shadow minister for education, I am very keen to see improvements in our schools. I commend this project. However, I think that it has also fallen victim to the Premier's spin on his so-called green credentials, where he is always out there telling us what he is doing but also at the same time ensuring that the smallest windmill that pops up somewhere can be seen.

Just remember that there have been several articles in the press now which tell us that the most important criterion for the Premier in using windmills and solar panels is not so much their effective positioning but their visual positioning, so they can be seen. It does not matter that if in the most appropriate visual position it only gets half its efficiency; the important thing to the Premier is that it can actually be seen, not actually deliver the power required.

One of the interesting sections of this report, you will notice, is that it boasts about its green credentials and about the use of solar power and the use of wind power. When I raised the question as to the extent of the solar and wind power in this project I was told that, well, really it is only just for students to study. I asked a question about a reduction in the global allowance for the school to pay for electricity for these new innovations of wind and solar power that were being boasted about in this project and, of course, there is no reduction; they are not expecting any savings at all.

I then called for a report on how much power will be generated in the use of these windmills and solar panels that were boasted about on this project. The report came back—I did not want it in kilowatts, as kilowatts are a bit hard to understand for the average person like me; I wanted to know how many computers it would power—telling me that on a sunny and windy day—so it has got to be sunny and windy at the same time—the school will actually be able to power seven and a half computers for eight hours.

But what a great visual effect of the solar panels and the windmill and what great credentials to be able to write into that report—that environmental concerns have been considered in this project. So, this is a con on environmental grounds, just also as are the other environmental projects the Premier hangs his hat on.

I cannot let this project go without expressing concern about the federal government's dropping the Investing in Our Schools program. It was interesting that, in the lead-up to the election, in March last year the government (then the Labor opposition) welcomed the policy document, Directions in Our Schools. They stated that they understood the shortfall in spending facing Australian schools (of course, our schools are run by state Labor governments right across the country) and, consequently, the additional funding to invest in our schools, provided by the previous Liberal government, was welcome.

Yet we now have a situation where many of our schools, particularly those category 6 and 7 schools, will be disadvantaged. They have lost that Investing in Our Schools project. Some of the projects implemented in schools around the state really should be undertaken by the state government under its education budget, as they are essential and important projects.

For example, $53,000 was allocated for floor coverings for the Blakeview Primary School. This was last year, but remember that there have been three years of these grants at $150,000 a pop per school. We see the library resources at Blyth Primary School. Of course, primary schools are the biggest losers.

Ms CICCARELLO: Madam Deputy Speaker, I think that the member has strayed from what we are actually talking about, and I ask that you request him to come back to the report.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I uphold the point of order. I ask the member to return to the subject of the report.

Mr PISONI: I have obviously hit a raw nerve with the member for Norwood on this issue. She herself is embarrassed about the way that the Rudd government has performed on the Investing in Our Schools project. The member for Norwood is embarrassed, and she is trying to shut me up. But she will not shut me up, because I will be telling everyone I meet in schools about her lack of interest in capital projects and other projects in our schools.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Unley, have you finished your remarks?

Mr PISONI: No; I have not, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have another five minutes, as you can see. You can read the box as well as I can.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The point of order was to continue—

An honourable member interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Interrupting the Deputy Speaker is not in order. Please return to the subject of the report.

Mr PISONI: The point I am making is that state Labor governments have been running our education systems for years now, and the only thing that has been saving them is the Investing in Our Schools projects, which have helped disadvantaged schools such as Craigmore High School and others in that area. Other disadvantaged schools this government is ignoring and is not delivering resources to are schools that are growing in other areas, particularly in and around my electorate of Unley, and they will be missing out now.

Primary schools will no longer receive any funding whatsoever from the federal government for important projects such as windmills and solar panels, which the Premier continually boasts about and which are mentioned extensively in this report. As I mentioned earlier, as to sustainable energy, this government is only interested in using it as a prop, if you like, for espousing the myth that this Premier is in fact a green Premier.

This project is evidence of the perfect opportunity the government had to spend some more money producing a real wind turbine, such as, for example, the wind turbine I visited at Forest City High School in Iowa over the Christmas break, which actually produces 65 per cent of the school's electricity. That project was put together by the school community as well as the general community. That wind turbine was impressive to see, because not only did it have the benefits of energy savings, greenhouse gas savings and saving of money for the school but also it had the benefit of educational advantages for the students. I am pleased that the government is spending money on our schools in areas such as this and, certainly, I would like to see the government opening its purse for other schools throughout the state.

The Hon. P.L. WHITE (Taylor) (11:16): I rise to support the government's position in spending this significant amount of money on the redevelopment of Craigmore High School. I believe it is a very worthwhile project and will lead to more enhanced outcomes at that school. I think that the member for Unley speaketh with forked tongue when he takes such a pot shot at the government on its education record. One has to look only at the millions of dollars that this Rann Labor government has poured into our schools since its initial election compared with the millions of dollars the previous Liberal government in its 8½ years took out of our school system.

Craigmore High School is a very good school to look at when one considers this point, given what the previous Liberal government allowed to occur at that school. I was involved in some controversy at that school in what came to be known as the 'Craigmore five' incident when our Labor government realised that the school was grossly underperforming and moved teachers. I am pleased to say—and I commend the principal—that the school has made a significant turnaround, and that is because Labor is willing to act not only in terms of the significant investment it has put into our schools in South Australia in the last six years—the significant investment in redevelopments of our schools which we are seeing and which is ongoing (Craigmore High School is having a significant facilities upgrade)—but also in terms of educational programs that have been introduced in our schools, including the literacy programs and programs to help retain our students in high school to year 12.

Our daily newspaper has reported an increase in the number of students attending government schools. That has been a turnaround. What was the record of the previous Liberal government? Each year we saw a decline in the number of students attending our public schools—a significant drift away from our public schools. We are seeing a turnaround and, as a member of the Rann Labor government, that makes me extremely proud. I do think that the member for Unley's contribution was delivered with a bit of a forked tongue, because the record of the Rann Labor government stands in distinct contrast to the complaints the honourable member has made. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been put into schools as compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars—I think it was about $300 million, but my memory is fading me a little on that point—of maintenance backlog left to us by the previous Liberal government. We have seen massive investment in education works.

Mr Pederick interjecting:

The Hon. P.L. WHITE: I am not sure what the honourable member's interjection meant, but the facts speak for themselves. A Rann Labor state government means a massive injection into education, and the former Liberal government meant massive amounts of money taken out of our school systems, schools closed without replacement—a degeneration. It was just not the Liberal government's priority. It is a priority for Labor. I am very pleased that Craigmore High School, in particular, has seen this investment of funds. I thank the opposition for its support in carrying this recommendation unanimously on the Public Works Committee, and I look forward to the day when we can look at the opening and see the massive improvement in the facilities that this latest project will bring to the students of Craigmore High.

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (11:21): I will pick up on a few points the member for Taylor made. Together with other members of the committee I supported the Craigmore school redevelopment, and perhaps the former minister should be elevated to the position of minister of education again or to something similar. The member for Taylor has selective memory loss in having a crack at the former Liberal government. The former Bannon government left the state broke—absolutely flat, motherless broke—and there was no money to spend on much at all, including education. It was absolutely criminal, so I am not prepared to sit in this place and hear once again about the virtues of the Rann government and how much it is spending on education.

Going back in history we can remember the debacle left to the incoming government in 1993. I would rather look forward than back, but that needs correcting in Hansard and it is most inappropriate to have a go at that government that came to power with no money and lots to be done. It turned the state around and got the economy going again, and the Rann government was then able to hop on the bandwagon and spend everything created by the former Liberal government.

In supporting the Craigmore High School redevelopment, it is important to be aware of history and get the facts right, and I hope in the forthcoming Rann reshuffle the member for Taylor will be elevated, perhaps along with the member for Little Para, and they will both get back on the front bench and we can get the place cracking again.

The Hon. L. STEVENS (Little Para) (11:23): I rise to support the motion and to support the government's capital works program of over $4 million at Craigmore High School. I will be brief. Craigmore High School is not in the Little Para electorate but in the electorate of Napier, but it is one of the local schools in the Elizabeth/Munno Para area. Craigmore High School is going very well at the moment. It has had a new lease of life, and I congratulate the principal, the staff, the students, the parents and the community on the way the school is now focused on great results and enhanced learning opportunities and outcomes for its students.

As the member for Taylor mentioned, things have not always been so at Craigmore High School. I know the school well, even from my time as a principal of other secondary schools in that area, and there have been difficulties over the years at Craigmore High School. In particular, those difficulties culminated in the action the member for Taylor took as minister for education when there was direct intervention, dealing head on with staff matters and issues arising at the school and making significant changes to enable that school to get back on track and be able to deliver the necessary educational outcomes for students. I congratulate the member for Taylor. Many people knew about this and did not take action. She took action as minister—and it needed to happen. In combination with other measures taken that school will now be an outstanding place for students in the Elizabeth-Munno Para areas to gain an excellent secondary education.

I congratulate the government on this money. As a neighbouring MP, I look forward to watching the continuing good things happening at Craigmore High School for the benefit of the students in the north.

The Hon. R.B. SUCH (Fisher) (11:25): I welcome this development: $4.4 million is a fairly modest amount, as the chair of the Public Works Committee informs me. I am happy to say that I am a product of the state school system. I am a great believer in it. In my view, it needs hundreds of millions of dollars spent on infrastructure to bring many of the schools up to the standard they should be. The member for Finniss said that previous Liberal governments did not have the money. Of course, there is some truth in that. However, the reality is that the present government—and I commend it for this—is spending much money on capital works in schools, but we need to spend much more.

In the community we often hear people saying that we need more sporting facilities. To me, they should come after we have addressed the issue of properly providing for the education of our children. If members look at the schools in our community overall, we have a two-tiered system. The private system has been generously funded by the commonwealth in recent years for infrastructure, but when you compare it with many, if not most, state schools, they are the poor relations when it comes to their infrastructure.

I challenge any person to look at this objectively and in a fair-minded way. I believe that they will have no option other than to agree with what I am saying. I would like to see our state schools with the infrastructure that has been funded in the private school sector. I am not being critical of the private school sector, I am just saying that there is a disparity, as a result of very generous commonwealth funding over the past 10 or 11 years in particular, to the private school sector.

Whilst Craigmore High School is clearly not in my electorate, I am pleased that money is being spent on schools such as Craigmore. I have noticed that many areas which are predominantly—but not exclusively—in Labor electorates should be given the highest priority for spending on public schools. I was in the Seaton area last weekend and I noticed that many of the buildings at the high school are temporary and need to be improved significantly or replaced with solid construction. I am pleased that locally (and this was obviously with the support of the member for Davenport) we managed to obtain money for an improvement to Flagstaff Hill Primary School. Small bickies in the scheme of things—I think about a million dollars—but still welcome.

I am fortunate that, in my electorate, most schools are relatively new because it is a newly developed area, comparatively speaking, with other parts of Adelaide. I am not one to say that my schools are in a situation where they need huge amounts spent on them. Many of them would like some sort of meeting hall. Schools such as Reynella East, which I think is one of the largest schools in the state with a combined campus of probably 1,600 or 1,700 students, cannot fit their students in one building (that is, the hall) within the school premises. They need money spent there.

Likewise, for a while now, Aberfoyle Park High School has also made a request to make improvements, including a security fence. That still has not happened. It highlights the fact—and it is a topic for another day—that we need to give more authority to local schools by way of school councils and the principal to run and to govern their schools and to have a greater say in when money is expended on things such as fencing and other infrastructure. At the moment, I believe the system is too heavily orientated towards decision making in Flinders Street.

I commend this project. I look forward to the government spending the hundreds of millions of dollars that I said earlier is needed on our state schools to bring them up to where they should be. We should be proud of our state and private school systems, but I think when it comes to capital works (infrastructure) the state school system needs a huge injection of funding, and I do not care whether it comes from the commonwealth or the state: it is something that is necessary and should be one of the highest priorities of this government.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (11:31): I want to support the project for the reasons outlined by previous speakers. However, I make the point while we are talking about school capital works that I think it is time the Elizabeth Special School was treated more kindly by this government. It is a school with a student body that has special needs. I have visited the school. It is in poor condition, and I know the school has been lobbying its local MPs for some years now. Even a $200,000 injection would make a significant difference to some areas of the school, and I note that the government had a spare $200,000 to spend at Port Lincoln on the garden in front of the new hotel on council property (not on private property). I say to the government: if you are dinkum and if you have $200,000 to spend on a garden in Port Lincoln, I think you have $200,000 to spend on the students of Elizabeth Special School. I see no reason why the government cannot give it an initial $200,000 and then plan a major upgrade of the school.

I encourage all members of the parliament to go out to Elizabeth Special School, meet with the parent and teacher bodies, as I did, and do a tour of the school facilities and meet the students. You will see that the school is in desperate need of an upgrade. I encourage the government, even though the school is not in my electorate, to commit to a major upgrade of the Elizabeth Special School.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:32): I wish to make a brief contribution to this debate. I think it is a very good thing that Craigmore school has had this money spent on it. As everyone knows when looking around the state at the various educational facilities, there are needs to be addressed and it is a continuous program. There are issues with the number of square metres per student when rooms are deemed surplus, so schools need to maintain even assembly halls to keep them operational and be able to hold their school assemblies under some in-house system.

I challenge the government regarding the maintenance backlog and, if it is dinkum and so proud to shout from the rooftops about how good it is at funding maintenance, why was it removed from an education department website around 18 months ago? This website was accessible by anyone and everyone, and you could see what moneys were needed to be spent over time at schools right throughout the state. So I put out the challenge to this government: if it is so good at maintaining and upgrading schools, it should bring back the public website so that the government can be publicly accountable for what money is being spent and then we can have the debate on what this government is spending versus previous governments. But let us move forward and get on with the job.

Motion carried.

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