The Andrews Labor Government will demolish old, asbestos ridden buildings at ten Victorian schools and replace them with brand new, state-of-the-art classrooms as part of a $16.25 million boost.
The Minister for Education James Merlino today joined Member for Bentleigh Nick Staikos at Southmoor Primary School to announce the funding from the Victorian School Asbestos Removal Program.
Part of the Labor Government’s $155 million program of asbestos removal and building replacement, the current phase of work includes the demolition of buildings at 30 schools and the replacement of new ones.
The first 10 schools benefitting from this round of funding include:
- Southmoor Primary School
- Altona Primary School
- Frankston Heights Primary School
- Fyans Park Primary School
- Glengala/Sunshine West Primary School
- Highton Primary School
- Mount Waverley Heights Primary School
- Yallourn North Primary School
- Moe (South Street) Primary School
- Bayles Regional Primary School
These new, innovative buildings reduce planning and building times, meaning students and teachers will get these brand new facilities sooner, with less disruption to learning and teaching programs.
The Government undertook an extensive, state-wide audit of 1,712 government schools, which found 497 schools contained high-risk asbestos. The asbestos was removed from all of these schools by March 2016.
The Victorian Budget 2017/18 provided $85 million to remove more asbestos from more schools, including funding to install the first 30 of the 100 proposed modular school rooms.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education James Merlino
“We promised we would get rid of asbestos in schools and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
“We’re giving parents, teachers and students peace of mind by removing asbestos that could be a risk, because there’s nothing more important than the health and safety of our kids.”
Quote attributable to Member for Bentleigh Nick Staikos
“Thanks to our investment, kids and teachers at Southmoor PS will soon have a brand new, state-of-the-art classroom – and they deserve nothing less.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020