Pittwater Life March 2017 Issue

Comment
Urgent need to upgrade
demountable classrooms By Jason Falinski
Federal Member for Mackellar
The end of the year
always heralds school
celebrations for Families
with Children, it’s a time
where academic, sporting
and leadership success are
recognised. As a father with
a young daughter, I know the
pride parents feel for their
children’s achievements.
I myself attended many
award nights as 2016 drew
to a close: at Pittwater High,
Barrenjoey High, Dee Why
Public School and Mater
Maria, to name but a few.
Schools often come to
Canberra to visit Parliament
House and I spend time
with them to talk about the
parliamentary and political
process. The exchanges are
fascinating – particularly when
the kids start to open up
about what they’d like to have
changed in our community. To
date I have been able to see
the Japanese School, Christian
Covenant School and Pittwater
House, and look forward to
many more.
There is often follow-up
work for me to do after the
visits. I was for instance asked
to provide a timeline for the
construction of the Cromer
Skate Park for one group.
Another raised the issue of
demountable classrooms. As
the schools in our area have
had to deal with increased
demand, they have had to
erect temporary classrooms.
These structures need to be
upgraded to give kids longlasting
and better-quality
infrastructure. I am talking
to my State colleagues to
implement these changes.
Meeting with as many of
you as possible has been and
continues to be a big part
of what I do. During one of
these meetings, I discovered
the amazing work being
done by the Be Centre – a
charity dedicated to assisting
traumatised children aged
3-13 using Play Therapy.
The Centre is relocating
to Warriewood as it has
outgrown its current facility. I
am looking forward to helping
make this transition a reality.
I try to assist our
many great community
organisations secure
government grants wherever
I can. At the end of last year
we provided $200,000 to the
Kinma School at Terrey Hills
for a new learning space.
Many of you have filled
out my community survey,
for which I am very grateful
(if you haven’t it’s available
on www.jasonfalinski.com.
au). One of the big issues that
you have raised with me is
the cost of living, particularly
when it comes to affording
child care. I know from my
own conversations with you
that often times the cost of
child care is higher, or barely
covered by the money earned
if a parent goes back to work,
creating a dilemma for a lot
of our families.
Your Liberal Government,
led by Malcolm Turnbull,
is determined to fix the
outdated model we have now.
Parents who want to return
to work must have affordable
childcare available to them.
That is the liberal way. I
believe in these reforms and
will fight for our package in
Canberra, because I believe in
an environment where all of
us parents, who want a better
future for our families, have
the opportunity to do so.
Comment
MARCH 2017 23