Private Members' Statement
I have previously spoken in this Chamber about the tenacity of my constituents.
They continue to fight for their fair share, no matter how many times the Liberal Government disappoints them.
I am delighted to report that late last year one such community fight resulted in a clear win for people power.
After years of the executioner's axe hanging over Hurlstone Agricultural High School at Glenfield, common sense finally prevailed.
The Liberal Government has backflipped on its atrocious plans to relocate the school to the Hawkesbury.
It was a long, hard‑fought campaign but we did not back down.
The Liberal Government tried to rob students in south‑west Sydney of a high-quality public agricultural education. T
he Government was only interested in handing over the school's valuable land to developers—all part of a fire sale of valuable education land, on the block for a song.
The Liberal Government tried to turn its back on nearly 100 years of Hurlstone's history in its rightful home at Glenfield, but our community would not let the Government get away with it.
They fought and fought hard. They joined my Hands Off Hurlstone campaign until the Liberal Government finally succumbed.
Local residents have rightly celebrated the fact that Hurlstone will remain in its rightful home at Glenfield in south‑west Sydney.
We all look forward to Hurlstone maintaining its proud and strong tradition at Glenfield, but it has to be said that this victory is a little bittersweet.
The Liberal Government is still pushing ahead with plans to sell most of the school's land to developers.
Ideally the green open space at Hurlstone should be left alone, but this Government's obsession with overdevelopment means that our community will have to put up with more congestion and concrete. So our community fight is not over.
We will now turn our attention to saving as much land as possible.
Hurlstone Agricultural High School must be provided with extensive hectares for its dairy and boarding facilities and to meet the future demands of agricultural education in south‑west Sydney.
I have already advocated to Landcom and the Education Minister that it is crucial to leave the extensive green open space around the hilltop schools of Ajuga, Campbell House and Glenfield Park.
The students at these schools have special interests and special needs and the green vista is crucial to their schooling and overall wellbeing.
If this Liberal Government is intent on continuing with its obsession with overdevelopment, my community will continue to fight to ensure it does not keep repeating the same mistakes.
I insist on adequate infrastructure to ensure existing residents do not continue to feel the brunt of overdevelopment.
The new primary school will need to be large enough to cater for local families. More commuter car parking is essential. Streets need to be wide enough for on-street parking. The community will need recreational facilities and playgrounds in the absence of large backyards.
Rest assured, I will closely scrutinise Landcom's masterplan for the Hurlstone site when it is released this year. I will continue to advocate for the best possible outcome for my community.
I will always fight for my community's fair share.
This whole process of trying to relocate Hurlstone to Hawkesbury has been a colossal waste of time and money.
There has been unnecessary stress and uncertainty heaped upon the school community. My focus will be on ensuring the promises of funding for Hurlstone's upgrade and the retention of the dairy are not broken.
The fight to save Hurlstone includes some key figures and I acknowledge them in this Chamber. My heartfelt thanks goes to Hurlstone alumni Dr Peter Benson, the late Laurie Porter, former Hurlstone principal John Norris and former Macquarie Fields MP Dr Andrew MacDonald.
Your ongoing passion and support served our community well.
I also recognise the late former member for Macquarie Fields, Stan Knowles, and the late former Campbelltown mayor, Brenton Banfield, for their past efforts to save Hurlstone.
They believed Hurlstone's place in our history and heritage should be and always will be at Glenfield. They also believed in the school's distinguished role in delivering a fine public education for students in south-west Sydney.
Finally, this Liberal Government will do well to remember that my community is tenacious. We fight for what we believe in. This fight serves as a lesson for all governments of all persuasions to keep their hands off Hurlstone.
