Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff's desperate on-going attempts to convince Tasmanians he is trying to deliver crucial new schools are in reality an attempt to cover up badly broken promises.
Shadow Education Minister Josh Willie said Mr Rockliff's latest attempt - announcing the appointment of architects for schools in Brighton and Legana - did nothing to disguise the fact that both are disappointingly delayed on his watch.
"It's laughable that Mr Rockliff would try to tell Tasmanians he is busy building when the polar opposite is true," Mr Willie said.
"Both the Brighton High School and Legana Primary School are crucial to cater for growing student numbers but both communities have witnessed a lot of talk and very, very little action.
"More than three years ago the Liberals promised the new Legana school would be finished in 2023 and early this year they confirmed the project had now pushed out to 2024.
"In 2018, Tasmanians were told the Brighton High School would be delivered by 2024 and the Liberals have now confirmed it will not be finished until 2025.
"Improved educational attainment and retainment are crucial to the job prospects and future careers of young Tasmanians as well as for Tasmania's economy.
"Mr Rockliff continually cherry picks statistics to try to convince Tasmanians all is well but unfortunately we have the lowest Year 12 retention rates of any Australian state at under 74 per cent and attainment rates for Year 12 students have declined for the third year in a row to just 58 per cent.
"Mr Rockliff cannot continue to claim everything is OK when he is failing to deliver badly required infrastructure.
"He needs to tell Tasmanian families why he has broken some of his key election promises and why he has failed to give priority to these important school projects which are vital for our children's future."
Josh Willie MLC
Shadow Education Minister
