Scarborough High Open Space Action Group
Bulletin June

The State Labor Government has announced its plans for "community consultation" over the future of the high school site – BUT it has already decided to sell enough of the land to raise $10.5m to spend on schools in other parts of the State (Stirling Times 5-11 June). This is unfair. The Minister for Education Alan Carpenter, has a duty to consider the educational needs of the children in our area. Are they not as important as children "in other parts of the State"? This sounds the death knell for a high school on the site in the future.

Prior to the State Election in February, the Labor Party in Opposition, said that it would set up an "intensive, design-based publicly interactive planning and design process, which would ensure an outcome that has broad community support." Our group actively supported the Labor Party because we believed it was committed to genuine public consultation over the future of the high school land.

We are entitled to ask why, if the consultative process is genuinely intended to result in an outcome that has community support, a decision has already been made to sell off portion of the site. Surely, this decision should be made at the end of the process, not before it has even commenced!

The public has been given four days to register an interest in participating in a Community Forum on 16 June. The Community Forum will be limited to 60 residents "representing the broadest possible interests".

Although we are unhappy with the process and feel disillusioned and cynical about the Government’s pre-emptive action, we have no choice but to participate. We urge you to register your interest in attending the Community Forum by contacting Sally by 11 June: