Ms HUTCHINS (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs) — I am proud to have campaigned with local parents to secure funding for the new secondary school in my electorate after four years of neglect by the previous Liberal government, who sat on their hands achieving nothing in the west while our local schools were underfunded and bursting at the seams.

As local residents are no doubt aware, I have been calling on the Department of Education and Training to release the boundaries for the new secondary school as soon as possible. We are glad the zones have finally been released so that families can plan accordingly. The Department of Education and Training released its designated boundaries for 2018 just a few weeks ago for the school, which has been given the interim name Taylors Hill West Secondary College and is located in Fraser Rise, a newly named suburb previously known as Plumpton. Speaking to local parents, many were thrilled with the catchment area and some were a little disappointed.

Luckily we are blessed with many excellent local schools that were established by previous Labor governments. Just last week I met with Copperfield College principal Anthony Sokol. We discussed how we can better improve and support Copperfield College and we talked about the great programs the school already runs, including the unique robotics club at the Sydenham campus. Establishing neighbourhood schools will benefit the local growing population — it will ease enrolment pressure as the new school grows in capacity and develops its curriculum. The new high school in Fraser Rise is a snapshot of an amazing investment by the Andrews government that has seen every school in the Sydenham electorate better off. I will continue to work with local schools to provide high-quality education for local families, but the reality is that we need more schools in the future. The four years the Liberals were in power were pivotal to the lack of investment.