Westgarth Primary School

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:19:21) — My question is to the Minister for Education, represented by Minister Tierney. In September 2015 a roof condition report for Westgarth Primary School was commissioned, and this was as a consequence of years of ongoing roof leaks throughout the school. These have been worsening. Most of the ceiling areas in the building have shown signs of water ingress, and they are stained and rotten. In fact there were actually dead vermin and live maggots falling out of the roof quite recently. Despite the education department receiving this report over two years ago, the roof is yet to be repaired. Can the minister advise why this is the case and when roof works at the school will commence?

RESPONSE:

Thank you for your question relating to the roof condition at Westgarth Primary School. The Andrews Labor Government is committed to investing in education and school infrastructure, and this has been demonstrated through the allocation of more than $2.5 billion to school facilities in the last three State Budgets.

Ensuring school premises are safe, secure and well-maintained is a shared responsibility between schools and the Department of Education and Training. The Emergency Maintenance Program is targeted at unforeseen maintenance matters which may pose a risk to safety. If Westgarth Primary School has urgent maintenance or repair issues that are beyond its budget capacity and directly impact on student or staff safety, an application for funding can be made under the Emergency Maintenance Program.

I’m advised that the Department is not aware of any requests from Westgarth Primary School through this program and encourages the school to contact the Department’s North- Western Victoria Regional office for further assistance and advice on this matter.

I trust this information is of assistance.