The Palaszczuk Labor Government has today put politics ahead of proper school planning by announcing it will spend half a billion dollars to build new high schools in inner city Brisbane while regional communities miss out.
Liberal National Party Leader Tim Nicholls said Annastacia Palaszczuk and Kate Jones had ripped up the 2013 findings of the Queensland Schools Planning Commission and instead chosen to protect the political backsides of inner-city Labor MP’s Jackie Trad and Grace Grace.
“Today’s announcement shows the Palaszczuk Labor Government has ignored key recommendations of the Schools Planning Commission Report,” Mr Nicholls said.
“The Planning Commission recommended no new schools were needed for inner city Brisbane until after 2031.
“Today’s announcement is a blatant $500 million sand-bagging effort to save Labor MP’s at the expense of proper planning and genuine need.
“It smacks of sheer political desperation to save the seats of Labor heavy weights Jackie Trad and Grace Grace - pure and simple.”
Mr Nicholls said, through the creation of the Queensland Schools Planning Commission, the LNP properly planned for 11 new schools across Queensland, while Labor had so far delivered just one.
“We took the politics out of school planning and ensured all Queensland kids will get access to the education they deserve – today’s announcement shows Labor is more interested in its own political survival.
“There are other areas of Queensland, including the northern Gold Coast, Ipswich, North Coast and regional Queensland that have been ignored by Labor for the past two years. Why could this money not have gone to those kids?
“A Tim Nicholls-led LNP government will listen, plan and act to build a better Queensland.”
Key facts:
The LNP established the Queensland Schools Planning Commission on 24 July 2012 as a Ministerial Advisory Committee. The Commission analysed future population trends and school capacity, and produced a Queensland schools infrastructure demand map. Based on that analysis, and in less than three years in government, the LNP planned for the delivery of 11 schools:
In just over two years in government Labor has delivered one school:
