State Liberal Deputy Leader John Gardner visited Mount Gambier last week to engage with a range of people and schools in the community.

Mr Gardner said he spoke with Mount Gambier MP Troy Bell about his vision for Mount Gambier’s future.

“We visited the TAFE site and the UniSA facility to talk about how we can ensure the government’s promise of a new technical college is used in a way that will really benefit local business industry and students,” Mr Gardner said.

“We also had a look at Moorak Preschool, which I was really pleased as (Shadow) Education Minister to ensure that we funded the upgrade there.”

Mr Gardner visited Tenison Woods College with Mount Gambier City Councillor Ben Hood to discuss the future of education and how the school supported the community.

“We also visited Yahl Primary School which, before the election, we had a commitment to substantially upgrade the facilities,” Mr Gardner said.

“It’s been identified as one of the primary schools in South Australia that is most in need of infrastructure upgrade.”

Mr Gardner said the facilities had not improved during the six months since his last visit, with the old transportable classrooms the biggest concern.

“They were not designed to still be in operation today, they are no longer fit for purpose and they need to be replaced with modern modular facilities that are actually meeting the standards that we expect for our students,” he said.

“Yahl is a really great school, the staff there are fantastic and they are absolutely getting the most out of the built infrastructure they have.

“But the maintenance that’s required there, the extra effort that has to be taken by staff there because of the aged infrastructure is too much to ask of that school community and they deserve to have better facilities.”

Mr Gardner also met with Mount Gambier Mayor Lynette Martin and chief executive Sarah Philpott to discuss their priorities for Mount Gambier and how the Liberal party could help.