Last minute state election round-up

At the OurSay event on 22/11/10, three of the candidates for Brunswick answered the following question from HSC:

“A recent demographic study has shown there is a definite need for a high school in Coburg. We need a real commitment and action, not more bureaucratic wrangling over this crucial issue. How will the candidates ensure that a high school is reinstated to Coburg and its broader community in as timely a fashion as possible? ”

Watch their responses below:

Comments on the answers and the debate in general can be found on the OurSay site and on the report in the Moreland Leader, Brunswick candidates on the issues that matter (24/11/10).

The high school for Coburg issues has been receiving plenty of media attention including in the Age, 

All set for high school but closures leave no place to go, Northern Schools full by 2016, 

Veteran Cleary fancies his chances of election upset, Labour threatened across inner city, the Moreland Leader Boost for new Coburg school, Shaky Coburg school pledge. There has also been discussion of the HSC issue in the comments section of another Moreland Leader article, Planning a key issue in Brunswick.

HSC co-founder, Cate Hall made the following comment;

Marita and Ben I think it is wrong to look at planning as a separate issue to the others you mentioned. What is missing is a whole of government response to some of these issues. Planning necessitates parallel infrastructure and service provision . A good example is open entry state secondary provision in Coburg - there is none. High School for Coburg are painfully aware of the lack of communication between the departments of planning ,community development and education even though it is all inter-related. The Coburg Initiative have assessed that a school is required as a PRIORITY at 2010 -even before all the new dwellings are built. The DEECD report highlighted a "provision shortfall " This needs to be planned for in conjunction with TCI and is for the benefit of the whole community -local education provision positively impacts not just on education but on on health, transport, environment, economy, community development and even by increased youth engagement -crime.


The following response from Adrian was a fantastic and unprompted acknowledgement of the work that Cate (and the rest of the group) has been doing;

Cate Hall is absolutely right and I would like to congratulate you Cate on the energy and dedication you have brought to your struggle for a high school. All these issues are inter-connected and we need as many people as possible to ignore the party lines we are constantly fed and stand up for our vibrant suburb. Grassroots democracy is democracy at its best and most powerful.

The Socialist Alliance have also released their education policy.

Socialist Alliance Releases Victorian Education Policy

How will you be voting tomorrow?