Labor makes promise on Docklands school process

The Labor Party has promised to restart the planning process for a Docklands school if elected, but is making no guarantees that a school will be built under Labor.

State Member for Melbourne Jennifer Kanis last month told Docklands News that Labor would restart the planning process if it wins the election in November.

She said a feasibility study into a Docklands school had been commissioned four years ago but had not been released under the current government.

“What we will do if we’re elected is release that report, have a look at what it says and then start planning for a school in Docklands,” Ms Kanis said.

But she didn’t make any promises that a school would be built in Docklands under Labor.

“Until we’re in government and have all the documentation that we need we can’t promise anything specific because we need to know all the data behind it, and the location and all those sorts of things, but we’ll get on with it,” she said.

In 2010 the former Labor government commissioned the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to conduct a feasibility study relating to primary school provision for inner Melbourne.

The current coalition government has not released the findings of the report and in 2011 a spokesperson for Education Minister Martin Dixon told Docklands News that former Education Minister Bronwyn Pike had never authorised a study to start.

She denied this at the time, saying it had been completed and she had seen the report.

The need for a local primary school has been a topic of debate for some time now, with predictions suggesting 850 children aged under 14 will live in Docklands by 2016.

Current anecdotal evidence suggests families tend to move out of Docklands once their children reach school age.

“I am acutely aware of the increasing difficulties faced by parents of school-aged children in Docklands and the CBD who are forced to seek enrolment for their children at schools far from home,” Ms Kanis said.

“As a former teacher, the provision of education close to a child’s home is an important principle to me.”

“On a number of occasions I have raised in Parliament the need to plan schools for the future growth in the CBD and Docklands but the Napthine Government has continued to dither, demonstrating a complete lack of commitment to progress this matter further.”

“I am committed to ensuring that children in Docklands and the CBD receive a quality education and our inner-city schools are properly resourced and maintained.”

Education Minister Martin Dixon said the proposal was “another cruel hoax from Daniel Andrews and Labor, which cannot be trusted to deliver on their promises”.

“The Napthine Government has already invested $16 million for land purchase, site preparation and preliminary design work for a new government primary school at 129-161 Ferrars St, South Melbourne, which will service the Docklands area.”

“The Napthine Government has delivered on all of its school infrastructure election commitments from the last election, and is getting on with the job of upgrading our schools with $500 million delivered in the 2014-15 State Budget.”

“The only thing Labor will deliver for Victoria is more broken promises,” Mr Dixon said.

Currently State Government plans for an inner-Melbourne school have focused on Ferrars St in South Melbourne.

Although the Government has purchased a site, it is yet to commit any funding to build the school.

Closer to home, a site in Docklands’ Digital Harbour has been reserved as a possible site for a future primary school.