10 November 2020 Speech - Eastern Metro School Funding

My question is to the Minister for Education in the other place, and my question is: will the government commit to a significant increase in school funding through the upcoming budget in the electorates of Ivanhoe, Box Hill and Mount Waverley?

At the last election, the Liberals took a policy of significant additional school funding for a whole range of schools that desperately need it in my electorate: $6 million for Glen Waverley Primary School, $8 million for Mount Waverley Secondary College, $8.6 million for Banyule Primary School, $5.5 million for Box Hill High and additional further significant commitments in Ivanhoe, which is so under-resourced.

The government has said that this upcoming budget will be a spendathon. We also know that, noting today is the day when VCE exams start, our students have been so disadvantaged by such a long statewide lockdown. Indeed OECD experts say that the harm done to students from lockdowns like ours may well be permanent. In this context, the government must commit to a significant increase in school funding in my electorate.