Charlotte Varcoe
SOUTH East Australian Education Union representative Matthew Key has welcomed the collaborative approach by local Members of Parliaments and school students in advocating for better school facilities.
It comes following advocacy by Melaleuca Park Primary School students and Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell for easier access to contractors for basic maintenance work at public schools.
Mr Bell put forward a motion to Parliament this week requesting the State Government allow principals to use local contractors for works up to $100,000 following a presentation with the school student leaders.
The meeting also prompted Mr Bell to visit all public schools around Mount Gambier/Berrin to discuss the needs of principals.
Although the original motion was amended to support a review of the current maintenance process, Mr Key said anything which would help reduce workloads was welcome.
“It is really important particularly for site leaders at the moment who are very much under the pump across the State,” Mr Key said.
“More particularly in regional areas where there may be less resources available.”
He said anything which would help reduce waiting times for getting maintenance work done within schools was welcome and congratulated Mr Bell and the students on taking the initiative.
“We notice there is a lot of very old infrastructure across the region and so being in a very wet area we have had some issues around foundations of buildings but also just the general brick construction of many our buildings,” Mr Key said.
“These buildings are between 30 and 40 years or more and the other thing I often hear about regularly from members is things like leaking ceilings being quite normal and mould coming up through from foundations which is concerning at any site.”
He said he believed Mr Bell’s motion would make a difference with local contractors understanding the “unique aspects” of the region while also being familiar with water damage.
“Many of our buildings share a lot of policies across the South East region so having those local contractors who know and understand our buildings will probably speed up a lot of processes,” Mr Key said.
“The students making the presentation to Troy really says a lot about the current state of our facilities and the fact they are willing to stand up and do something is great.
“They should be commended for their initiative in standing up for something and their school because what they are stating is they deserve better.”
He said it was exciting to hear about students who were willing to take issues directly to their local members and start difficult conversations.
“I really hope this might start a bit of a trend where more and more students are heard by our political leaders across our state,” Mr Key said.
“The next best thing is we could have more students taking the lead.”
