By Taylah Eastwell
Emerald Secondary College is at the centre of political controversy once again, with the government and opposition failing to see eye-to-eye on funding allocations for campus upgrades announced in the state budget.
The state government handed down its annual budget on Thursday 20 May, including $695,000 for Emerald Secondary College.
The news angered Gembrook MP Brad Battin who claims the school has been short-changed $4.8 million dollars.
As a result of the “shortfall“, the $5.576 million dollar upgrades will be postponed until after the 2022 election, Mr Battin argued.
“Emerald Secondary College has already had to wait several years for Labor to listen to their cries for new facilities after they failing to match the Liberal’s 2018 election commitment, to now see they will have to wait until another election for the full funding for their upgrades is unacceptable,“ Mr Battin said.
Minister for Education James Merlino hit back, accusing Mr Battin of having “the same problem every year where he fails to understand how budget papers and building projects work”.
“Funding for all infrastructure projects are provided over multiple years as construction progresses. Funding is provided as it is needed,“ Mr Merlino said.
“In failing to understand this normal and basic approach to delivering projects, it is no wonder he failed in his Liberal Party leadership coup.”
Mr Battin accused the government of failing to release a full state budget in 2020-21, leaving out detail on essential capital works.
The “enormous funding shortfall and delays in the completion of works for Emerald Secondary College is probably why the Labor Government refused to release their full budget papers last year as they did not want to reveal how shallow their announcement was to the Emerald community,” Mr Battin said.
“It is disappointing the project has been held hostage until the next election.”
The school has long been caught in a political crossfire, with Mr Battin believing the school has missed out on essential funding for far too long.
“I support the work getting underway, but it is a shame the Labor party have taken so long to realise Emerald students deserve equal to the rest of Victoria,” Mr Battin said when upgrades first began.
“Students in year 12 in 2021 have missed out on new upgrades at Emerald since the Labor Government cut the commitment made by the Liberal Party in 2014. They put politics ahead of students in Emerald and this year’s VCE class missed out,“ Mr Battin said.
The state government claims it has now invested more than $7.5 million to upgrade Emerald Secondary College, including $1.5 million in the 2015-16 Victorian budget and a further $500,000 in the 2017-18 Planned Maintenance Program.
