You can read the full Hansard here, what follows is an excerpt very relevant to Coburg
The member for Prahran has requested that I come to his electorate to talk to members of his community and look at some sites.
An issue he raised with me before he was elected and one that has been well and truly in the news is the need for the further provision of government secondary college education, and Prahran is one area where there is that need. There is also a need in areas of the inner suburbs of Richmond, Coburg and Yarraville, and there is a need for primary school education in the area between North Melbourne and
Page 2885South Melbourne. We are working on a number of fronts with some community groups.
Our department is looking at the whole issue. It is no good just looking at needs in isolation; we are looking at the overall provision in the inner suburbs. There have been great population changes in a lot of the inner suburbs, and we are committed to giving parents a choice of education by offering them diversity. That choice is not between government and non-government schools; that choice is about a range of schools that can fulfil the needs of students and parents. School values, the curriculum, the size of the school and where the school is located are all important considerations that parents take into account.
We firmly believe in the need for diversity, and that is why we want to build up our government school system -- so that there are choice and diversity in the system. We are looking at a range of needs for government school education, especially in inner suburban areas. We will be making a number of announcements as we complete the various studies that we have undertaken. We are certainly listening to the member for Prahran and have allocated money for a study in his area. I look forward to being on the ground with him to look at sites and to talk to community groups about their need for government secondary education.
