State Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, is seeking an explanation from the Minister for Education over what appears to be a dramatic and ‘obscene’ increase in the cost of school toilet block projects.
He said it was symptomatic of this government’s wasteful spending.
Speaking in Parliament, Mr Bull questioned why a complete demolition and rebuild of the toilet block at Metung Primary School in 2020 cost $146,000, while more recent projects involving simple refurbishments at Tambo Upper Primary School and Lakes Entrance Primary School have reportedly cost around $500,000 each.
“At Metung Primary School we saw a complete demolition and rebuild of the toilet block costed at $146,000,” Mr Bull said.
“More recently, we have seen simple refurbishments at Tambo Upper and Lakes Entrance primary schools costing around half a million dollars. That is roughly the cost of building a new four-bedroom home in country Victoria, yet these projects were refurbishments rather than complete rebuilds.”
Mr Bull said local communities deserved an explanation as to why costs had escalated so significantly in a relatively short period of time.
“I appreciate that construction costs have increased over recent years, but $500,000 for refurbishments raises major alarm bells,” he said.
“My constituency question to the Minister for Education seeks a detailed explanation for these cost increases and what factors have contributed to them.”
“When local schools require upgrades, everyone wants to see those works completed, but the community is entitled to understand why costs have increased to this extent and whether taxpayers are getting the best possible value,” he said.
Mr Bull has asked the Minister for Education to provide an explanation for the substantial increases and high overall costs.
