PLEDGE TO AIRCON ALL SCHOOLS
THE Palaszczuk government has promised every state school will be airconditioned by mid-2022 despite previously dismissing the move as prohibitively expensive.
After repeatedly warning a similar Opposition proposal would cost $2 billion, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk yesterday unveiled a $477 million plan to aircondition all classrooms, libraries and staffrooms in public schools.
The estimated cost appears to have plummeted in recent years after frustrated parents raised funds to cover the cost of cooling their children's schools, leaving only about one-third of the state’s schools without aircon.
Under the plan, 650 schools will have aircon installed by June 2022.
The pledge comes despite the government failing to meet its target to install airconditioning at 301 schools by the beginning of this term.
Only about half of those 301 schools have airconditioning.
Ms Palaszczuk said the mid 2022 date for airconditioning in all state schools was a deadline for installation.
Only a year ago, Education Minister Grace Grace said of the Opposition’s policy “we’re talking over $2 billion to do this program and then you can’t get it done overnight, you’re probably looking at least a five to 10-year program to do that”.
Yesterday, she said her plan would cost less than a quarter of this and be complete in a fraction of the time.
Defending the shift, Ms Grace said the $2 billion figure came from the Opposition in 2014 and an audit conducted by the Education Department had revised the cost.
As part of the plan, 80,000 school rooftop solar panels, on top of an existing plan for 110,000 panels, will be installed to help meet running costs.
Schools that already have airconditioning will not have to pay for repairs.
P&C’S Queensland chief Kevan Goodworth backed the plan but said some schools were already airconditioned because they had been “paid for by parents”.
“I can well appreciate some schools would feel chagrined or disappointed,” he said.
Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said the government had adopted her policy and she predicted it would blow out in cost.
“I am delighted the Labor Party have adopted the LNP’S plan to aircondition every state school classroom in Queensland,” she said. “But Labor have already failed over the summer to deliver the air conditioners that they promised.”