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North Shore Electorate Education Infrastructure

Published on: March 2025

Record: HANSARD-1323879322-151811

North Shore Electorate Education Infrastructure

Ms FELICITY WILSON (North Shore) (15:28:34):

I address a crisis that is unfolding in my community: a crisis of complete planning failure and two years of neglect that is affecting parents and children across the lower North Shore. The Minns Labor Government's lacklustre approach to planning and educational infrastructure is having a profound and detrimental effect that cannot be ignored any longer. Families in my community are feeling the weight of that failure. This is one troubling example. In November last year, when Cammeraygal High School announced it had hit capacity just 10 years after opening, students within the catchment area were turned away and redirected to Mosman High School. Some children had to walk past Cammeraygal to get on the bus to Mosman. They had to change between multiple buses to get to school. That is not just an inconvenience; it is a sign of a complete lack of planning and investment in the future of schools in my electorate.

Cammeraygal High School is a new institution and already at full capacity, yet the Government has failed to invest in new schools to meet the growing demand. My community is absolutely bursting at the seams, with no new schooling infrastructure planned to alleviate the pressure. Instead, the Government has earmarked Crows Nest for an influx of thousands of new homes, after failing to ensure an ongoing funding commitment for a St Leonards education precinct. My community cannot cope with the increase in housing without adequate planning and infrastructure. It is not just a missed opportunity; it is a decision that will affect families for years to come. A St Leonards education precinct was committed to back in 2018 and has sat in the budget every year since then, with planning work underway for a new primary school and a new high school for the precinct.

In 2021 additional money was allocated for the precinct and Chatswood primary. Labor retained that funding allocation in the two budgets it has handed down since taking office and yet in its rhetoric in recent months Labor seems to have walked away from those essential commitments. While the Government claimed in its response to the transit oriented development documentation for the Crows Nest metro area that "there is no urgent need" for those schools, the reality is that, as the new housing projects progress, thousands of families will need access to education in my community. Labor has failed to plan for that need. The transport oriented development [TOD] response came about because of the number of community members who, in their submissions—including my own submission—raised with the planning Minister and the Minister for Education and Early Learning the dire need for new educational facilities. It is disappointing that, within days of the TOD response saying that there is no need for additional capacity, Cammeraygal High School started turning students away.

I have met with the P&C presidents and the regional P&C president from Cammeraygal High School and Cammeraygal Primary School, within its catchment area, to discuss the growing concerns around school capacity and the potential cancellation of the St Leonards education precinct. During those discussions, it became clear that there is a shared sense of frustration and urgency among parents, particularly at feeder schools for Cammeraygal High School, such as North Sydney Demonstration School and, to a lesser extent, Anzac Park Public School. I have been told that parents are nervous about ensuring that siblings are not split up between Cammeraygal and Mosman high schools. A number of children were turned away from Cammeraygal High School in 2025 and parents are concerned about the impact on their cohort and friendship networks.

After my meetings with the P&C presidents, it has become increasingly clear to me that the St Leonards education precinct remains a critical project for the future of education in our area and that a potential cancellation would be incredibly detrimental to families now and into the future. With thousands of new families to be injected into my community and with no educational infrastructure to support them, it will be even worse. For the future of the children in my area, I urge the Government to reconsider its decision not to invest in education in my community. The education sector is not the only one feeling the strain. The Government's blanket planning policy also fails to address the pressing need for massive improvement in transport and other community infrastructure. That is a textbook example of poor planning under a one-size-fits-all solution.

My community is incredibly dense. We love it. It is vibrant. It is part of what makes the lower north shore an exciting place to call home. What my community does not need is density without supporting infrastructure. I live in an apartment building, and so do more than 70 per cent of people. But without investment in public transport, schools and open space, density becomes suffocating. Education is the foundation of our future, and we must ensure that every child has access to quality schooling in a setting that supports their development.