If elected in November, a Liberal Nationals Government will provide the $15 million required to complete stage two of Bairnsdale Secondary College redevelopments. Now it’s hoped the other side of politics will also commit to such funding for an issue that should not be about politics, but people. Shadow Minister for Education, Tim Smith, and Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, yesterday announced the Liberal Nationals would fund the works desperately needed at the region’s largest school.

Mr Bull said he believed this was the biggest priority for the region at the present time.

“The former Liberal Nationals government funded and completed the first stage of upgrades at the college in 2014 and I’m pleased to be here today delivering on our promise to finish what we started,” Mr Bull said.

“The structural deficiencies of the ageing buildings, flooding and mould have been of significant concern for the college council and leadership team and also very costly to repair, only to be re-damaged when it rains.”

These buildings will be replaced in Stage Two.

As the college now stands, students in years seven to 10 must walk around 600 metres from the older section of the school to attend art and technology classes in the newer section, classes that form a major part of the curriculum.

This is unacceptable on wet days when classes are often started later as students try to dry off after the trek.

“This stage two is desperately needed,” college principal, Ian Hall, said.

“It will mean that we can all be on one site and we’ll have superior art and technology facilities.

At the moment they are simply not up to standard.

“With this commitment from the Liberals Nationals we are now hoping that the other side of politics will actually visit and commit to stage two.

“We hope they will show an interest in East Gippsland. This is not a political issue – it’s about people.”

Mr Bull has been a strong advocate for the college’s upgrade and is disappointed with the Labor Government’s response.

“Unfortunately Labor has ignored this project and despite promising to visit after invitations from both myself and the school council, the Minister has not bothered to make time in the past four years, which is deplorable,” Mr Bull said.
President of the college’s school council, Liz Barlow, said the wait for the stage two upgrades has been extremely frustrating.

“We want the best outcomes for our kids, and if we can have facilities where they can learn and grow, that is the whole aim of the purpose here,” Ms Barlow said.
“It’s been very hard. There’s been lots of polling of politicians to try to get them to commit to the funds and to commit to the second stage of the building. The first stage was done in 2014 and we’re still waiting on funding commitments for stage two.

“It’s great that we’ve had commitment from one side today, and hopefully the other parties will come and commit as well.

“The response from the Education Department has been very minimal. Maintaining the current buildings as they are with repairs, we’ve been spending $300,000 in our maintenance budget, money that could be going to student education resources.”

Mr Smith said despite the vital need for upgrades, Labor continued to ignore calls from the school and community to fund stage two.

“This is a great school achieving great things for the East Gippsland community, but students and teachers have continually been let down by a city-centric Labor Government, which has failed to provide our future leaders with a quality learning environment,” he said.

Mr Bull said with a growing number of students attending the school, and the problems with leaks and ageing buildings only getting worse, the works were desperately needed.

“Both myself and the school council have continually raised these issues, so Labor’s failure to show any interest has certainly not been due to lack of awareness,” he said.

“The Minister said in February 2015 he would come to the school when his diary permitted, but three and a half years later we are still waiting, which just proves again how little regard Daniel Andrews and his Labor Government have for our community.”

PICTURED: Bairnsdale Secondary College vice captains, Zoe Lanigan and Jacob Ellett, captains, Jarrod Stephens and Anna Wilson, Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, Shadow Minister for Education, Tim Smith, college principal, Ian Hall, and school council president, Liz Barlow, look up at the damaged roof of one of numerous areas within the college that desperately needs repairs, upgrades or replacement. The Liberal Nationals have committed to providing the $15 million required to complete stage two of the college’s upgrades should they be elected to govern in November.