The Nationals’ candidate for Gippsland East, Gemma Rendell, has cited a damning Victorian Auditor-General report to highlight state government shortfalls in regional education funding.
The report, which revealed that rural and regional schools are statistically more likely to be in poor condition than their metropolitan counterparts, underlines what Ms Rendell describes as ongoing neglect of country communities.
“The flow-on effect is that these schools face additional hurdles in attracting and retaining teachers, accessing specialist support and maintaining ageing facilities within their own school budgets,” Ms Rendell, who works as a local teacher, said.
“Labor calls Victoria the ‘Education State’, but teachers, parents and students are being let down by a government that has lost focus on the basics.”
Ms Rendell outlined several key Opposition policy commitments designed to address the funding imbalance across regional electorates. Central to the platform is a proposed 25 per cent regional infrastructure guarantee aimed at bringing capital investment in line with regional population levels.
She noted that while regional Victoria accounts for a quarter of the state’s population, it currently receives only 12 per cent of infrastructure spending. Correcting this imbalance, she argued, would ensure country schools get their fair share of funding for essential facilities and services.
Beyond bricks and mortar, the Nationals plan to roll out a Successful School Starters program starting in term one, 2028. The initiative would embed occupational therapists and speech pathologists within the existing Primary School Nursing Program to help identify learning and developmental needs in Prep classrooms, while offering a $500 subsidy for families requiring further initial specialist appointments.
The opposition has also pledged to scrap payroll tax on non-government schools to relieve pressure on family fee structures and preserve parental choice in education.
Ms Rendell said rural educators, students, and families deserve equal access to modern school infrastructure and early intervention services regardless of their postcode, adding that the state’s education system needs a fresh start that respects teachers and puts students first.
