A win for Docklands families, but we need answers

Our local schools are at the heart of our community. They’re where our kids learn, grow, make friends, and build their futures.

For years Docklands families have been waiting for action from the State Government to ease over-crowding and build new capacity for Docklands Primary School. As your local MP, I have been proud to campaign for action alongside parents and the school community.

That’s why I’m pleased to see the state government include funding to buy land for a new Docklands Primary campus in this year’s State Budget. This is how we get change, by working together with families, to ask for what we need, and refusing to let governments off the hook.

Docklands Primary, still a relatively new school, has been a huge success story. It’s grown, achieved wonderful results, and has amazing teachers and school staff. But it’s bursting at the seams. The state government has had to lease space at a nearby shopping centre just to cope with enrolments, a short-term fix that was never going to be enough.

A new campus is genuinely needed and I am glad the budget has finally recognised that.

But here’s the problem: the budget only gives us scant details. Where will the new campus be located? How big will it be? How many students will it serve, and will it actually meet the needs of our growing community for the long-term? These are basic questions that families deserve answers to – and the government has so far not provided them.

The Greens will be asking these questions in the Parliamentary Budget Estimate Committee this week and when we return to Parliament in June. Our community deserves details, not just a flashy announcement.

There is also a broader picture that cannot be ignored. Even with a new campus on the way, Victoria’s public schools are still the lowest-funded in the country, and the Labor State Government quietly cut $2.4 billion from school funding recently. This leaves our kids behind other states. A new building is welcome, but it means little if the people inside aren’t properly supported.

The state government has also failed to plan properly for growing communities, and we’d like to see this change. Instead of building schools in anticipation of population growth, the state government waits until schools are already overcrowded and then scrambles to respond. It’s reactive, short-sighted, and unfair on families.

The state government needs to stop repeating the same mistakes of the past.

A great local public school should be guaranteed, not left to chance or the whims of election cycles.

I’ll keep working alongside our community to make sure Docklands families have the schools we need and the answers they deserve.

As always, if you have any questions or ideas please don’t hesitate to get in touch [email protected]