Media Releases

Member for Rodney, Paul Weller is pleased to announce $6,500 in State Government funding for the McIvor Neighbourhood House Learner Marketing and Promotional Project.

The McIvor Neighbourhood House was one of more than 60 Learn Local organisations across the state to receive grants totaling $2.3 million.

The Heathcote-based organisation hopes to better serve the needs of adult learners in the local region.

Mr Weller said the grants will help adult community education Learn Local organisations like the McIvor Neighbourhood House to expand their services, improve efficiency, offer new courses, increase participation and retain learners.

"As a knowledge-driven economy, Victoria will increasingly need a workforce with higher levels of qualifications and skills and these funds will help further enhance education and training,” Mr Weller said.

“I pass on my congratulations to all successful applicants from this third round of funding” he said.

The funds for the Heathcote-based group were provided through round three of the State Government's Adult, Community and Further Education (ACFE) Board Capacity and Innovation Fund.

"The ACFE Capacity and Innovation Grants have been designed to help Learn Local organisations to develop new programs and to boost participation and learning," Mr Weller said.

"The Capacity and Innovation Fund is an initiative that will encourage innovation within adult education and support a sector of the Victorian education system that already does vital work in supporting adult learners,” he said.

Each year the state's 310 Learn Local organisations provide education and training to more than 95,000 people, offering vocational, language, literacy and numeracy and work-skill courses.

In the 20 years that the community-based adult education sector has been recognised in Victoria by legislation, these organisations have helped thousands of people to new education and employment pathways.

Work is set to commence on Tongala’s new primary school before the end of the year, Member for Rodney Paul Weller announced today.

Mr Weller said the tender process for the project had been finalised last week and awarded to a Cobram building firm.

He said he was hopeful demolition and construction works would commence on the site immediately.

“This is fantastic news for the Tongala Primary School and wider community particularly given the number of setbacks the project has suffered along the way.

“The school community has worked tirelessly and patiently to overcome a number of hurdles in securing their new school and I congratulate them for their dedication and commitment.

“I have been pleased to be able to support them in their endeavours to achieve this long overdue outcome and very enthusiastically await the completion of the new school.”

Mr Weller said the new school was originally scheduled for completion by 2009, but had been plagued by problems since the Building the Education Revolution funding was granted.

He said since the Victorian Coalition came to power 12 months ago he had been working closely with the Victorian Education Minister to overcome the issues and fast-track the project.

“In August this year there was a problem regarding a lack of available funding to upgrade fire services at the school but thankfully we were able to arrange for the department to manage the cost of that upgrade.

“This enabled the school to receive the best outcome for its building project which was released for tender in October.”

Mr Weller said construction of the new school was expected to be completed within six months.

Schools at Leitchville, Nanneella, Echuca West and Tongala are among the first of almost 300 primary schools to receive funding for a welfare officer as part of a $124.4 million Victorian Coalition Government election commitment.

In making the announcement today, Member for Rodney Paul Weller said the initiative would help stamp out bullying and provide additional support to students and families.

The expansion of the Primary Welfare Officer (PWO) initiative will deliver on the Coalition Government’s election promise of an additional 150 welfare officers over the next four years to assist primary school students across the state.

The funding boost, announced in this year’s State Budget, will see welfare officers working in two out of three government primary, P-12 and special schools.

Under the Coalition’s plan, every Victorian primary school will eventually have access to a Primary Welfare Officer.

Mr Weller said PWOs were already funded at Girgarre, Stanhope, Nathalia, Heathcote, Redesdale Mia Mia, Rochester, Rushworth P-12, Echuca East, Echuca South and Echuca Specialist schools.

He said the expansion of the program would better support students, their teachers and parents and would play a key role in helping tackle bullying and cyber bullying.

“Students’ behaviour and ability to learn is heavily influenced by their social and emotional wellbeing.

“Primary Welfare Officers will work with students and their families to help support student learning and create safer more harmonious school environments.

“This will also help free up teachers to teach more effectively.”

Education Minister Martin Dixon said the Coalition Government had listened to the positive feedback from principals about the program.

“Principals of primary schools where the program has operated have been incredibly supportive of the work of welfare officers and have reported enormous improvements in students’ behaviour, attendance, willingness to learn and general perception of themselves,” Mr Dixon said.

“The Primary Welfare Officers initiative will be supported by other measures to help teachers identify, prevent and manage bullying and behavioural issues.”

Education Minister Martin Dixon and Member for Rodney Paul Weller today announced four schools in the region are among the first in the state to sign up to the Victorian Coalition Government funded $10.5 million eSmart cyberbullying program.

eSmart is a cybersafety program created by the Alannah and Madeline Foundation and will be available to every government school across the state and 300 Catholic and independent schools over the next four years.

So far, 290 Victorian government schools and 108 Catholic and independent schools have registered to be part of the program.

Echuca West Primary School, Kyabram P-12, Lancaster Primary School and Redesdale Mia Mia Primary School are among the first schools to sign up.

“I’d like to congratulate each of these schools, which have joined 400 schools across Victoria in becoming the first to register for eSmart,” Mr Weller said.

“Their registration shows just how serious these schools are about stamping out bullying and creating safe places where students can learn and support each other.”

The Victorian Government will provide schools in the Rodney electorate with $2000 each to help them implement eSmart.

Mr Dixon said he was confident eSmart would provide students with practical tips about behaving safely and appropriately online.

“Students today spend a lot of time in the cyber world, so it’s important they are provided with the tools they need to stay safe in that space,” he said.

eSmart teaches students about protecting themselves from risks including cyberbullying and sexting, and also about the importance of protecting their own privacy.

The Alannah and Madeline Foundation worked with the RMIT School of Education and other education experts over three years to develop the school resource.

eSmart will play a key role in delivering on the Victorian Government’s commitment to stamp out bullying, combat violence in schools and provide students and parents with the support they need.

The Victorian Government has also provided $4 million over four years to review and update bullying policies and programs for Victorian government schools.

Three of the region’s top registered training organisations are set to merge thanks to a $150,000 State Government grant announced today by Member for Rodney Paul Weller.

The Kyabram Community and Learning Centre, Campaspe College of Adult Education and Murray Human Services will join forces in a merger project designed to build one strong, effective and sustainable Learn Local Registered Training Provider.

Mr Weller said the grant would help the three organisations better serve the needs of learners across the region.

“This exciting merger project will ensure that the delivery of pre-accredited and accredited training will not only be maintained, but expanded in the future,” he said.

“Learners will benefit from improved access, options, pathways and attainment.”

The project is one of 80 across Victoria to receive grants totalling $3.78 million, provided through Round 2 of the Coalition Government’s Adult, Community and Further Education (ACFE) Board Capacity and Innovation Fund 2011.

The grants help adult community education Learn Local organisations to expand their services, improve efficiency, offer new courses and increase the participation and attainment of learners.

“The Capacity and Innovation Fund is an initiative that will encourage innovation within adult education and support a sector of the Victorian education system that already does vital work in supporting adult learners,” Mr Weller said.

“Through this grant, KCLC, the Campaspe College of Adult Education and Murray Human Services will be able to bring their individual and unique strengths together to build one strong, effective and efficient training service.”

Member for Rodney Paul Weller has congratulated St Mary of the Angels Secondary College on its outstanding success in the recent National Australia Bank Schools First Awards program.

Mr Weller received notification this week from the NAB that St Mary of the Angels had won a $50,000 Impact Award for its school-community partnership - ‘Lest We Forget’ - with Returned Servicemen’s League (RSL).

He said the school developed a partnership with the RSL for the purposes of producing an oral history of the RSL members’ lives on film and planting a memorial garden in the RSL grounds to satisfy VCAL requirements.

“The students will conduct interviews with the RSL members, learn to create film archives and develop a deeper understanding of history in a learning environment that suits their needs,” Mr Weller said.

“The student benefits of the partnership have included increased school attendance, improved confidence and the development of teamwork and leadership skills.”

Mr Weller said St Mary of the Angels was one of 60 schools around Australia to have been awarded a local NAB Schools First Impact Award.

He said the national program encouraged schools to partner with their community and was based on the view that strong school-community partnerships made a significant difference to outcomes for young people.

The Nationals Member for Rodney Paul Weller has welcomed today’s commencement of the review of school bus network services at Echuca.

The review is designed to help ensure school buses operate efficiently and effectively and that bus services in the district continue to match demand.

In State Parliament today Mr Weller said he was confident the review process, unlike that under the previous Labor Government, would be a constructive one.

He said he had met with the independent consultants carrying out the review yesterday and was satisfied the new guidelines were appropriate.

“The review ordered by the previous Labor Government was put on hold after it attracted a storm of protest from both school bus operators and the parents of school students regarding the lack of extensive consultation undertaken as part of the review,” he said.

“At the change of government, I requested the new Minister for Transport Terry Mulder to put the existing review aside and carry out a new, more inclusive process.

“The Minister agreed that a more constructive consultation process was needed and as a result the Department of Transport and the Bus Association Victoria have recently agreed upon a set of guidelines for how future school bus reviews will be undertaken.”

Mr Weller said the new guidelines required that the school bus reviews include consultation with relevant stakeholders, including school principals and bus operators.

“This has been an excellent result and one which I am sure will give much greater reassurance and confidence to bus operators and parents of students using school buses in my electorate and right across the state,” he said.

“The review of the Echuca bus network commences with a meeting in Echuca today and I look forward to following that review process with interest.”

A proposal to establish an educational facility at the Baroona Healing Centre site in Echuca has been supported by Member for Rodney Paul Weller.

Mr Weller praised the project in State Parliament last week and sought the endorsement of Aboriginal Affairs Minister Jeanette Powell.

He said the proposed education facility would be utilised to engage and educate participants at Baroona as well as other youth who are disengaged from conventional schooling options.

“This exciting proposal is the initiative of the Njernda Aboriginal Cooperative and Echuca Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group,” Mr Weller told Parliament.

“These groups are deeply concerned about the problems facing some members of their community, particularly adolescent boys and young men, who have fallen out of the education system.

“They have been working together to come up with a plan to address the issue and I commend them for their proactivity.

“It is envisaged that this proposed facility will play a major role in assisting to break the cycle of recidivism of clients returning to rehabilitation, youth training centres or prison by providing them with a real opportunity to gain meaningful employment, self satisfaction and meaning in life.”

Mr Weller said the Baroona Healing Centre was a drug and alcohol rehabilitation and healing facility for koori males aged between 14-25 years, most of whom were predominantly youth training referrals.

He said clients at Baroona, and other disengaged youth would be able to attend the proposed education facility five days a week for a period of three hours each day.

“The project has been costed at $102,500 which includes a modular classroom, underground power, work desks, chairs, computers and reverse cycle air conditioning and heating.

“If the project was to go ahead, the Bendigo TAFE Echuca campus would provide the educational training which would be suited to individual needs and would incorporate culturally specific learning.”

Mr Weller asked Minister Powell to consider the proposal’s merits and to advise of the best way of progressing the project and the application for funds.

Minister Powell agreed the project was worthy of further exploration and has arranged for the department’s regional team in the Loddon Mallee region to assist in facilitating a discussion to explore funding possibilities with a number of stakeholders.