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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-06-10 Daily Xml
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School and Preschool Maintenance Programs

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (14:25): My question is to the Minister for Education. Can the minister update the house on how the Marshall Liberal government is backing South Australian businesses through the preschool maintenance program?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (14:25): I thank the member for the question. The member for Flinders knows, as do members on this side of the house, that the government is very committed to seeing both enhanced job opportunities for South Australians and a contribution towards that generational lift of educational facilities across our state as a result of the Marshall Liberal government's investment in school and preschool infrastructure and maintenance projects.

Last year, as everybody knows, we were confronted by an extraordinary set of circumstances, which had an immense impact on employment opportunities for people across the world and here in Australia. Indeed, the government had to take swift action to ensure that we were able to keep as many people in jobs as possible and to keep as many small businesses and tradies as possible in consistent work so that when we were able to come out of the pandemic we would be able to come out stronger than before and so that when the federal government's JobKeeper program, for example, was going to come to a conclusion, as surely it was going to, we would be able to come out with significant jobs still in our economy and, potentially, as has turned out to be the case here in South Australia and almost nowhere else in the world, even more jobs than before.

One of the programs the government put into place was investment—I think we called them COVID-stimulus grants—in preschool and school maintenance programs. These were investments initially of $20,000 to every public preschool in South Australia and then subsequently in the budget in the second half of last year a further $30,000 to every public preschool in South Australia, alongside a grant of $20,000 to $100,000, depending on their circumstances, to every public school in South Australia. These are projects that are entirely up to the discretion of the site leader but usually in consultation with and in addition to the facilities manager and the governing councils of the sites.

Across South Australia throughout this year, we are seeing many of those projects now completed and many more currently underway. The member for Flinders may be interested to know some of the particular examples of work that has been underway in his electorate. Of course, while this program was a jobs program and has kept people in work and has kept small businesses, suppliers, tradies and local workers in jobs, it has also provided a unique opportunity to lift the facilities in our public education across the state.

The sorts of things that might be going on in the member for Flinders' electorate, for example, include the Streaky Bay Children's Centre creating a new playground and nature play area, the Koonibba Aboriginal School upgrading their kitchen and installing a new island bench with a gate in the kitchen area of the children's centre and an arts sink, and the Port Lincoln Children's Centre having landscaping, upgrading to the parking area for staff and flooring to be polished.

Across South Australia there is a big variety of tasks underway. About 30 per cent of sites are reporting they are undertaking painting projects and about 27 per cent of sites have undertaken landscaping as part of their work. New nature play spaces and new playgrounds to encourage stimulating and creative and exploratory play are going on at hundreds of sites across South Australia.

There are sites that are using this money to install new air conditioners and sites that are using this money to install new interior or exterior blinds, enhance decking, install fencing and new staging areas—whatever the sites have needed. These are the sorts of jobs the sites have wanted that will enhance the learning and wellbeing of the students at these sites but that were not necessarily at the level where that had to be done.

This is a great program that the Marshall Liberal government has delivered. It has been providing jobs, it has contributed to our economic recovery coming out of the pandemic and it is giving our children, our next generation, a contribution towards the world-class education facilities they deserve—and the Marshall Liberal government is delivering for them.

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