Education

• Carlo Carli MP, addressing Parliament, calls on Minister for Education to admit Brunswick Secondary College to Building Futures
  
• Need to expand Brunswick Secondary College to 1000 students
  
• Primary school enrolment boom in Brunswick - up 190 kids in five years

Mr CARLI (Brunswick) — I raise a matter for the attention of the Minister for Education. The Minister for Education is very familiar with the Brunswick Secondary College, because before 2002 the school was in her electorate. It has been apparent for quite some time now that Brunswick Secondary College, with its enrolment capped at 850 students, is not able to respond to the current boom in education in the Brunswick-Coburg area. In Brunswick there has been a massive increase in the numbers of kids going to primary schools; in fact over the past five years there have been 190 extra enrolments in five primary schools in Brunswick.

Government schools are giving students every opportunity to shine. The 'shine' campaign highlights examples of fantastic and innovative teachers, the many options available to students, state of the art school buildings and community partnerships in Victorian government schools.

- Carlo Carli speaks to Parliament about the State Budget
- Global financial crisis is impacting on Victorian jobs
- Budget protects jobs and builds infrastructure
- It is not a situation of our making, but it is one we have to confront to protect jobs and to protect families in Victoria.

 On May 7 Carlo Carli spoke to state Parliament about the 2009-2010 budget, as a part of the debate on the Appropriations Bill 2009.

- Budget to secure 35,000 jobs in the next 12 months
- Schools, public transport, health big winners
- A traditional Labor budget, protecting jobs while investing for the future

Investing in infrastructure to secure jobs, stimulate the economy, and support Victorian families from the impact of the Global Financial Crisis are the hallmarks of the Brumby Labor Government’s 2009 State Budget.

Member for Brunswick, Carlo Carli MP today welcomed the Brumby Labor Government’s 2009 State Budget and its record $11.5 billion infrastructure investment that will secure up to 35,000 jobs in the coming 12 months.

- Federal and State Government announce $402 million in school infrastructure funding
- $2 million for new classrooms and Library at Pascoe Vale South Primary School
- More funding announcements in the months ahead

A Brumby Labor Government state budget boost of $402 million will deliver new school buildings to stimulate the economy now and deliver on the Government’s plan to rebuild, renovate or extend every government school in the state.

 Local MP Carlo Carli today welcomed the Rudd Labor Government’s announcement of the first round schools to benefit from the economic stimulus package to improve schools and create jobs.

More than 1400 Victorian schools will share in nearly $195 million, receiving between $50,000 and $200,000 to improve their schools under the first round of the National Schools Pride funding.

This includes some local schools including:

• Brunswick Secondary College - $200,000 for blinds, awning and floor coverings
  
• Brunswick South Primary School - $125,000 for heritage building refurbishment
  
• Brunswick North West Primary School - $125,000 for general maintenance
  
• Coburg West Primary School - $200,000 for major painting
  
• Merri Creek Primary School - $125,000 for Greening Merri
  
• Moreland Primary School - $125,000 for classroom upgrades
  
• Pascoe Vale South Primary School - $125,000 for 21st century learning spaces

Victoria’s higher education system will be positioned at the forefront of education delivery in Australia as part of the Brumby Government’s new Higher Education Plan.

The plan will dramatically expand the Victorian higher education sector in line with the Commonwealth Government’s proposed higher education reforms.

The Education Maintenance Allowance is paid in two instalments throughout the year; the first instalment from March onwards and the second instalment from August onwards.

Half of the payment is paid to the school and half to the parent or guardian.

In 2009 parents will have the option to EMA instalments paid by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) directly into a bank account.

EMA link: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/aboutschool/lifeatschool/ema/default.htm

Today Jacinta Allan, Minister for Skills and Workforce Participation, along with the Premier, announced Securing jobs for your future: Skills for Victoria - a $316 million package that will create more than 170,000 additional training places over the next four years.

This represents the single biggest boost to investment ever made in our skills system and introduces the most significant reform in decades.

Securing Jobs For Your Future includes the Victorian Training Guarantee - an Australian first. The Victorian Training Guarantee entitles all Victorians access to post-school qualifications which they can access at any stage of their adult lives. This sees Government committing to support the training of every eligible Victorian that wants to train for the first time, retrain at higher levels or boost their existing qualifications.

The full document and a series of fact sheets can be downloaded from www.skills.vic.gov.au.

 Dawson Street Child Care Co-operative is amongst nine childcare providers in the Brunswick electorate that will share in $10.7 million in Brumby Government grants to buy equipment, expand surfaces, renovate and improve general amenities.

Nine local services each received grants as part of the Brumby Government’s boost to the state’s early childhood services.

Dawson Street Child Care Co-operative would receive $100,000 to extend the toddlers room to increase capacity, and to install a new entry gate and pathway.

Brunswick North West Primary and Moreland Primary Schools will receive a healthy boost after receiving $6,000 each from the 'Go for your Life' Healthy Start Grants scheme.

The funding will be used in individual schools for a variety of purposes such as upgrading existing canteen facilities, repairs to exercise tracks, bike sheds, provide re-asphalting, all-weather protection of outdoor play areas and kitchen gardens.

 

Carlo Carli's submission on the Blueprint for Early Childhood and School Reform is now available to download.

The submission particularly focuses on earl;y childhood issues including:

• the nature of early childhood services in Brunswick
• Co-location or Partnerships?
• Workforce issues including qualifications and conditions and
• the future of sessional kindergarten

Its available to download from the side bar on the left or here.

Speech to parliament by Carlo Carli on the Brunswick Secondary College.

Mr CARLI (Brunswick) -- As all honourable members are aware, you cannot believe everything you read in the newspapers, and that is certainly true in relation to the article in the Sunday Herald Sun of last weekend about an incident that occurred at the Brunswick Secondary College.
The suggestion in the article is that the school has been too lenient on a student who was involved in this incident. This article is a result of an anonymous letter written by three students that was sent to the shadow Minister for Education, the member for Nepean, and it somehow ended up in the hands of the newspaper. There are inaccuracies in the article.
The facts were not checked with the school. The school was incredibly decisive and showed enormous leadership. When the incident occurred the student involved in it was suspended for a week.

I must say Brunswick Secondary College is an extremely safe school.
It has a great reputation. I send two of my children to that school. I realise it is a great school and they realise it is a great school. The school has worked hard to get a good reputation and be considered safe; it does not need this sort of inaccuracy presented in newspapers as a result of a leak like the one made by the member for Nepean.
It has been a very distressing incident for the school community. I know the school community will rally behind the school leadership, the acting principal
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The DEPUTY SPEAKER -- Order! The member's time has expired.