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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-03-04 Daily Xml
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Public Works Committee: Modbury High School Redevelopment

Mr CREGAN (Kavel) (11:52): It also gives me great pleasure to move:

That the 94th report of the committee for the Fifty-Fourth Parliament, entitled Modbury High School Redevelopment Project, be noted.

Mr Speaker, as you will be aware, Modbury High School is located on Pompoota Road, Modbury, within the City of Tea Tree Gully. The Modbury High School curriculum focuses on science, technology, engineering and maths—sometimes referred to as STEM—music, sport, language and performing arts and offers vocational education and training pathways.

Modbury High School was allocated funding of $7 million as part of the Department for Education's capital works program. The redevelopment will consist of demolition, new works and refurbishment of existing facilities to accommodate up to 1,100 students on the Modbury High School site. The Modbury High School redevelopment project will include the construction of a new year 7 building with additional music rooms, refurbishment of the student wellbeing area, refurbishment and extension of the technical studies area, demolition of transportable buildings, and landscaping and external works to upgrade the school's environment.

The proposed redevelopment works will be staged, with construction expected to be completed by September 2021. The committee examined written and oral evidence in relation to the project and received assurances that the appropriate consultation in respect of the project had been undertaken. The committee is satisfied that the proposal has been subject to the appropriate agency consultation and does meet the criteria for the 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, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed scope of public works. I hope that in the time remaining there is an opportunity for members who wish to make a contribution to do so, so I will cease speaking now.

Dr HARVEY (Newland) (11:54): I will make some very brief remarks in the interest of time. I commend the fantastic local community school led by Joanne Costa, the principal, and Martin Crabb, the governing council chair. I also had the great pleasure of meeting their new school captains at their recent leadership assembly, Ryan and Klio, as well as their vice-captains, Cooper and Sumbica.

I would also like to acknowledge a couple of other students within their Student Voice program, who were very keen to get a photo with me and have it put on social media, apparently to give them street cred. I have to say, that has never happened to me throughout my entire life, so I was very pleased by that. That Instagram post went very well once the school students worked out that it was online.

This is a fantastic outcome for a wonderful local school. It is a fantastic local community school that really encourages the local community to get involved as well as empowers many of their school leaders to take on important tasks, such as assemblies and the opening of their STEM works, which I think is a wonderful thing to see. I am certainly really pleased to see this project going ahead and would like to thank the Public Works Committee once again for their work on this project.

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (11:55): Again, I would like to commend the government and the Public Works Committee. This is a really welcome and long overdue improvement to Modbury High School, which has a long and proud tradition of delivering world-class students—I say that because so many of their students have gone on to have perfect scores, travel the world and be good at everything they have done—who make contributions to society at almost every level.

As the member for Kavel said, they have a wonderful music program, which I have been associated with through the Generations in Jazz program from my very earliest times in the area. We also need to talk about their Pedal Prix commitment. While this may not necessarily have a Pedal Prix commitment, the Pedal Prix people play a big role at Modbury High School.

As has been said, the governing councils have always played a major role at Modbury High. We have had some really great chairs, Julie Caust being the one I most remember of recent times but also Richard Murphy. Their families have played a large role in everything that has gone on in the school for many years. As I said, every school is grateful for assistance. I know that Para Hills High is looking forward to getting its turn in the not too distant future. I again commend everyone involved in this wonderful refurbishment.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (11:56): I am really pleased to reflect on the $7 million project at Modbury High School. I have visited a couple of times with Richard Harvey as the local member, although I identify that they draw their students in their zone from the member for Florey's electorate and from my electorate too. Students from Highbury and Vista in the Morialta electorate are zoned to Modbury High School. This is a school that has some really outstanding facilities.

I will not repeat some of the really great projects that the member for Newland and the member for Florey identified. I will add one that I was really pleased to see when I visited on one occasion not so long ago. The F1 in Schools Aspect Racing team that Modbury High School has does so well. That high-level STEM thinking is so advantageous to those students. In the F1 in Schools program, there are those more entrepreneurial skills that help them develop as well. When I was there on one of my visits in 2019 or 2020, that display was right at the front of the school.

Right next to it, the Modbury Rotary club has their outstanding student award honour board. I cannot go without mentioning that the 1989 winner of the outstanding student award for the Modbury Rotary club at Modbury High School was one Sascha Meldrum, who now holds the very important role of State Director of the South Australian Liberal Party, where she is continuing to apply the outstanding learning she gained at Modbury High School for the betterment of the people of South Australia. I thank her for that work, and I thank her teachers for their great work.

Congratulations to Joanne Costa and the leadership team at Modbury High School. Hames Sharley SA were the architects and Axis Constructions were the builders. Currently, the student population is 750 or thereabouts. It will be growing to 1,100.

There are two aspects of the school that I want to really briefly reflect on. The really, really old transportables at the edge of the open space, looking down over it, are being replaced with a fantastic new facility. My goodness, they were some of the oldest and worst transportables I have seen. I think they did such a good job in being able to teach anything there beforehand. The new improvements to the wellbeing space, along with the rest of the build, will be a great facility for the students at Modbury high for many years to come.

Mr CREGAN (Kavel) (11:59): In the few seconds remaining, can I thank the members who have spoken for their contributions, their passion for their communities and, as I earlier remarked, their real passion for public education.

Motion carried.

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