Choice for Cairns families thanks to record education investment

Families in Cairns are benefitting from the Palaszczuk Government’s record $16.5 billion education investment, ensuring they can send their children to the type of school that suits them best.

Education Minister Grace Grace today officially opened Stage One of the Newman Catholic College, where the Palaszczuk Government made a $15 million contribution, and visited Cairns State Special School, which is receiving $11 million for a new classroom building.

“While the vast majority of families in Queensland choose to send their children to a state school, we respect and support the right of parents and carers to choose a Catholic or Independent school if that’s what works best for them,” Ms Grace said.

“The Palaszczuk Government is proud to partner with the non-state sector to ensure Queensland has the infrastructure we need to provide better services, as well as supporting good local construction jobs.

“That’s why I was delighted to officially open the Newman Catholic College today.”

Barron River MP Craig Crawford said Newman College was the first Queensland Catholic secondary school co-located with a university.

“The state-of-the-art four level vertical building is set within the beautifully landscaped surrounds of James Cook University’s Nguma-bada campus,” Mr Crawford said.

“It was made possible thanks to a $15 million investment from the Palaszczuk Government and $13 million from the college and Catholic Education Services.”

Newman Catholic College Foundation Principal Lauretta Graham said the College would emphasise listening to different perspectives with an open, dialogical philosophy.

“As a faith-based school, our college stands for a Catholic identity, and while we want to articulate its benefits for all; we remain open to genuine dialogue with other points of view,” Ms Graham said.

“We worked with JCU staff, with Indigenous learning expertise, to design the building in such a way as to help First Nations students feel at home and engage easily with staff.”

Minister Grace said many parents choose to send eligible children to state special schools, and that the $11 million investment for Cairns State Special School would help the school accommodate current and future growth.

“When the school opened in 2017, there were 41 students and 35 staff but that’s grown to 108 students and 77 staff now,” Ms Grace said.

“This new building will include 8 state of the art classrooms and have capacity for around 50 students.

Cairns MP Michael Healy said the new facility was an important part of the region’s education infrastructure.

“This will ensure everybody in our community gets a first-class education,” Mr Healy said.

“It will be built on a parcel of land thanks to an agreement with adjacent Woree State High School, connected via a covered walkway with the works improving drainage on Woree’s oval at the same time.

“In 2022-23 alone, the Palaszczuk Government is investing around $2 billion to build, maintain, and enhance education infrastructure across Queensland, supporting 4,200 jobs.”

Principal of Cairns State Special School Susan Hoad said the school welcomed the investment in its facilities.

“This is an exciting new phase in our school’s relatively short history, and we are so excited to have everyone engaged and eager to shape the future of our school as we create even more opportunities for children to learn authentically,” Ms Hoad said.

“We are continually striving to give our students the chance to communicate and reach their potential, and we will work with our school community to determine how to maximise our use of this new space to complement the diverse range of learning experiences we offer.”

Minister Grace also discussed the major changes to the disability resourcing model for state schools to be phased in over 2023 and 2024.

Other investment announced in the budget includes $2.1 million to upgrade the library at Trinity Bay SHS and $2 million to refurbish the manual arts classrooms at the Tropical North Learning Academy, Smithfield SHS.

Ongoing investment in the region includes $7.6 million to upgrade the halls at Redlynch State College, $12.7 million for a new Performing Arts Centre at Trinity Bay SHS, and $2 million for a new hall at Woree SS. Minister Grace also officially opened the new $12 million hall at Cairns SS in September last year.

The Palaszczuk Government has invested around $500 million in Far North Queensland education infrastructure over the past five years.

ENDS

Media contact: Kate Talbot, 0439 803 211

You can access images from today's visit to Newman Catholic College and Cairns State Special School here.