Ms ANNA WATSON (Shellharbour): I move:

That this House:

(1) Condemns the former Government for not planning for public schools in areas with high population growth such as West Dapto, Calderwood and Flinders.

(2) Notes that the Government is committed to rectifying this lack of planning for public schools over the past 12 years.

NATHAN HAGARTY MP: 

I thank the member for Shellharbour for bringing this important motion to the House that condemns members opposite for their failure to invest in funding for education and for public schools for 12 long years, especially in growth areas. We know the Illawarra is a growth area. As we heard from the member for Camden, south-west Sydney is also experiencing immense growth, especially in my electorate of Leppington. Western Sydney is home to two million people, many of whom are young, ambitious and eager to learn. For decades, education, particularly in public schools, has provided a springboard for people from Western Sydney to lift themselves up out of disadvantage. Keen listeners to my inaugural speech would know that I count myself amongst those many people.

Unfortunately, that opportunity has dwindled. Opportunity was diluted over 12 years of the previous Government, whose neglect and underfunding allowed schools to become overcrowded. The former Government knew people were coming to the region, because the areas had been opened up for zoning and for housing, but it failed to adequately plan. Worse than that, in my electorate of Leppington not only did it not build schools but it also sold off sites that were earmarked for future public schools. Unsurprisingly, due to the massive demand for education in Leppington, those sites were purchased by private schools. I think one could probably call that privatisation by stealth, as we saw from those opposite for 12 long years. As a result, the electorate of Leppington has the highest number of students in private schools in New South Wales. Of the public schools that do exist in Leppington, many of them are historically underfunded and overcrowded. Some are operating at more than 150 per cent capacity.

We spoke about the Illawarra and the lack of funding in public education. We spoke about the south-west of Sydney. I can also testify that the situation is the same in the north-west of Sydney. I was in Schofields a few weeks ago visiting my colleague the member for Riverstone. While we criticise members opposite for what they failed to do in education, I will give them credit for one innovation in public education that I witnessed during my trip to Schofields: double-storey demountable classrooms. The good news is that the Minns Labor Government is fixing that. We are investing in education right across the State, especially in Leppington.

There will be a new public high school in Leppington in the heart of my electorate. It will be the first, because there is not currently one in Austral, Leppington or Denham Court, where all the growth is happening. We will build it. We are also upgrading those schools I spoke about that are overcrowded—Dalmeny Public School, Eagle Vale High School, Greenway Park Public School, Austral Public School and Leppington Public School. They are all getting funding. It is fair to say that is probably the single biggest investment in education that Leppington has ever seen. I note the member for Badgerys Creek, who was formerly the member for my area, was having a crack at me yesterday in the House about banging on the table for more investment. I invite her to read the budget. Labor's historic budget for education begins the process of reversing the terrible 12 years we had under the previous Government. We are committed to public education because that is what Labor governments do.