News

Govt leaves us stranded

CALLING for more schools in areas of high residential growth, Auburn MP Lynda Voltz visited Wentworth Point with Opposition Leader Jodi McKay and Shadow Education Minister Prue Car on the first official day of the new school term last Tuesday.

Ms Voltz accused the State Government of leaving her community “stranded”.
“We are being hammered by development here like no other area of Sydney,” she said.
“The apartments are going up, families are moving in, we need the schools now, not to be strung along for years and years.”
Noting that Wentworth Point Public School reached capacity as soon as it was opened two years ago, they also pointed to overcrowding at Newington Public School which has 14 demountables, and is limited from further expansion due to marshland.
In 2018, the need for a new primary school in the Carter Street precinct was also identified, with about 5,500 units being built, but Ms Voltz says correspondence from former Minister Rob Stokes indicates no school is guaranteed before 2026.
Ms McKay said after being in power nine years the State Government “is not building or upgrading schools fast enough”.
However, Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning Sarah Mitchell and Premier Gladys Berejiklian said 24 new and upgraded schools, including Parramatta Public School, opened in NSW this term.
They also highlighted plans for an investment of $6.7 billion over four years to deliver more than 190 new and upgraded schools across the state.