Extract from Hansard [ASSEMBLY — Tuesday, 20 September 2016
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Extract from Hansard [ASSEMBLY — Tuesday, 20 September 2016] p6283b-6335a Mr Chris Tallentire; Mr Fran Logan; Mr Mark McGowan; Mr Rob Johnson; Mrs Michelle Roberts; Mr Peter Watson; Mr David Templeman; Mr Mick Murray; Ms Janine Freeman; Ms Margaret Quirk; Mr Bill Johnston; Mr John Quigley; Dr Mike Nahan LOAN BILL 2016 Second Reading Resumed from 15 September. MR C.J. TALLENTIRE (Gosnells) [5.40 pm]: I rise to speak to the Loan Bill 2016. I begin by noting that this is the fourth such loan bill in seven years; in other words, the management of the state’s finances by this Barnett Liberal–National government has been such that on four occasions that loan has had to essentially be topped up. The amounts each time have been enormous sums of money. I understand this time we are looking at a loan bill worth $1.7 billion. That reflects poor management of the state’s finances. This is something we all have to communicate back to our electorates—the situation when it comes to the Barnett government’s mismanagement of the state’s finances. People understand that the state is in serious strife, with the debt level getting to $40 billion and the budget on an annual deficit. When I talk to my constituents about the Loan Bill and tell them that Parliament will be spending the best part of a week discussing our loan, they find it extraordinary and difficult to comprehend. Of course, they also find it difficult to imagine the sum of money involved— $1.7 billion. Personally, I find it very useful to talk to my constituents about the sorts of things they have concerns about—the day-to-day issues they want to raise—and then think about those in the context of this financial mismanagement. That is a real strength of our Westminster parliamentary system. We can be in here debating a bill worth $1.7 billion and the next day or later in the week we can talk to our constituents about the issues that impact on their lives. I think it is a real attribute of the Westminster parliamentary system that we have that very important grounding; that is, we can talk about big budget issues and then go to the reality of people’s day-to-day issues. I want to raise some of those issues in this place today in the course of this contribution to the Loan Bill debate. I start with a very simple issue, and one that will resonate with many members. It is an example that comes from Cori Bradley, who I met at a street-corner meeting in Homestead Park in Gosnells recently. Cori’s daughter goes to Seaforth Primary School, one of the primary schools in my electorate. Seaforth is a primary school that looks as if it deserves some extra investment. It desperately needs some additional investment as there is a growing school population. The impression we get when walking onto the school grounds is that there is a need for some additional maintenance money; there is the need for some refurbishment. That is not what the parents, carers and people connected with the school necessarily asked me about. They just want the very basics—the essentials we would imagine any child at a school would receive. That is the message here. I noted the comments that Cori made and I will read them, bearing in mind that this is what impacts on a young girl going to Seaforth Primary School. According to my notes, Cori said the following — The books in the preprimary library are old books and they are falling apart. I think they are the same books that would have been there when I was at the school. These are the books the children are supposed to learn to read from. They should be quality, attractive books that children want to pick up and look at. Sure, the children like to look at the cows and the kangaroos in the field behind the school. We’ve got kangaroos, but not proper books. That’s not right. I think that point made by Cori just reflects that we are not funding our schools adequately, as children do not have nice, fresh, current, actual reading material that they can learn to read from. That is just not fair on those kids. It does not encourage them, bearing in mind that there are pockets in my electorate where literacy rates are not strong; they are behind the national average. The National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy score for some schools is worrying. I know there is a whole host of issues we have to tackle to improve that situation, not least of which is doing things like encouraging families and parents to be active readers themselves so that when children get to school, they are eager to emulate what their peers and role models might be doing and they become enthusiastic readers themselves. It would seem like such a basic thing to make sure that a school like Seaforth Primary School is adequately resourced so that students there will be happy to read interesting material that is fresh, and not shabby old books that are falling apart and that make them feel like reading is something that belongs in the most dingy, ramshackle library. That is something we have to turn around. Looking at this Loan Bill, we have to ask about the figure of $1.7 billion. I understand that the need has come about because the public service has to be paid, but I look at some of the other items and issues that should be priorities for a government and one of the highest order items in my mind should be the refurbishment of schools in my electorate. Through freedom of information and other mechanisms, we unearthed some plans for the re-establishment of a decent learning environment at both Thornlie Senior High School and Southern River College. We have seen documents stating that an upgrade for Southern River College of $9 million is needed. We have gleaned these figures from the education minister’s own information. The same documents state that Thornlie Senior High School should have at least $12 million put into it just to bring it up to some semblance of [1] Extract from Hansard [ASSEMBLY — Tuesday, 20 September 2016] p6283b-6335a Mr Chris Tallentire; Mr Fran Logan; Mr Mark McGowan; Mr Rob Johnson; Mrs Michelle Roberts; Mr Peter Watson; Mr David Templeman; Mr Mick Murray; Ms Janine Freeman; Ms Margaret Quirk; Mr Bill Johnston; Mr John Quigley; Dr Mike Nahan modernity so students do not complain about the unsanitary conditions of toilets or have to dodge through corridors or covered areas as they go from one building to the next during a rainy spell. Those sorts of situations are totally wrong. Students having to walk through large puddles as they go from one building to the next and getting themselves and their shoes wet so they are wet when they get to their class is not acceptable. It will not make for good learning if kids get soaked through to the skin as they go from one class to the next. They will not be in a good frame of mind for learning, and perhaps worse, they will catch a cold and then be off sick and unable to participate in lessons. And there we see it: they will fall behind just because the facilities are inadequate. The documents we received suggest that Southern River College is in line for a performing arts and media centre, an extension to the sports hall, a new netball court surface and a science lab—all essential things. The documents reveal that at Thornlie Senior High School there is to be a new dance and media studio, refurbishment of the commercial teaching kitchens and more than $1 million worth of science laboratory upgrades. But we need to see the colour of the government’s money. Where is it? We have been hearing about various promises. During the last election campaign the Liberal Party’s education policy was to provide the best possible learning environments to cater for students’ needs for education and social development, and there was also a commitment to pay for a refurbishment of any school that was built before 1980. That is certainly the case at Southern River College and Thornlie Senior High School, but we have not seen that revamping. What is going on when promises are made at one election and nothing happens and we find that the government claims that it is investing in education? Along with other broken promises, we need only look at the transport area. Other members are far more expert than I when it comes to the needs of the Ellenbrook community and the Ellenbrook rail line, a broken promise; the Yanchep rail extension, a broken promise; the 30 per cent increase in bus kilometres, a broken promise; obviously the Metro Area Express light rail; the Ellenbrook bus rapid transit; railcar procurement; airport rail line by 2018, a delayed promise; overtaking lanes between Southern Cross and Kalgoorlie–Boulder; maintaining the tier 3 rail line, a broken promise; and the 100-day plan since 2008, a delayed promise. These are the sorts of day-to-day issues that people want to know about and find it mindboggling that the state government has to ask for more money just to keep the public service going. This $1.7 billion Loan Bill indicates to people the serious mismanagement of the state’s finances.