Agroup of five Mount Gambier students has been awarded the 2024 Governor’s Civics Award for Schools for their tireless efforts advocating for better facilities at Melaleuca Park Primary School.
Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell said the Governor’s Civics Awards for Schools is a cross-sector initiative aimed at fostering students’ skills and awareness as active, informed citizens in a multicultural and democratic society.
“It is wonderful to see these students recognised for their dedication, leadership and commitment to improving their own school facilities,” Mr Bell told the House of Assembly.
“Their advocacy demonstrated not only their sense of responsibility but also the power of student voice in creating positive change.
“Evelyn, Taylor, Jack, Lacey, Brax and their fellow Year 5 and 6 peers began a campaign to improve their own school’s toilet facilities after visiting an Adelaide school.
“These students reached out to me.
“As part of my Future Mount Gambier – 2.0 research, which included all public schools in our area, I went and visited their toilet facilities and the wider Melaleuca Park Primary School grounds.
“I have to say their facilities were very ordinary. It looked like they had last been renovated in the 1970s, probably when they were built, and not much else had happened.
“The students took me through some of the issues, including privacy concerns, no frosting on windows, being able to step on the cistern and look over the partitions, no hand wash facilities and no hand dryers – basically a pretty ordinary state of affairs.”
Mr Bell said the students also reached out to the Regional Development Minister Clare Scriven and Mount Gambier education director Adam Box.
“After my meeting with them, I took it on board to take their concerns to Minister Blair Boyer,” he said.
Mr Bell said the lobbying efforts of the students bore fruit as funds have now been announced for the toilet upgrade.
Similar praise also came from Liberal frontbencher Penny Pratt.
She expressed her pleasure at the outcome as she had taught at Melaleuca Park for 11 years.
