Joint Statement - Delivering $6 Million to restore Elwood Primary School

Joint Statement – Delivering $6 Million to restore Elwood Primary School 

James Newbury, Member for Brighton 

Brad Rowswell, Shadow Minister for Education 

Thursday, 22 October 2026

Under the Liberals and Nationals Excellence in Education Plan, students at Elwood Primary School will finally receive the investment needed to learn and grow in safe, modern facilities.

A Liberals and Nationals Government will invest $6 million to deliver urgently needed upgrades at Elwood Primary School, including addressing serious structural defects affecting the school’s historic buildings.

Elwood Primary School has been at the heart of the local community since 1917, providing exceptional education to generations of children. Despite the dedication of its teachers and the strong support of local families, the school has been forced to contend with deteriorating infrastructure and inadequate facilities.

The school’s heritage-listed buildings have developed serious structural problems, with widening cracks, steel and concrete supports holding up sections of the buildings, two classrooms taken out of use, and children learning under scaffolding. In September, faulty plumbing forced staff to stand in open sewage on two occasions within a fortnight.

In January, then Minister for Education Ben Carroll advised in writing that structural repairs were expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2026, stating:

“… the department is continuing to work closely with the school to repair the structural damage … the forecast practical completion date is in the third quarter of 2026.”

However, the promised works failed to commence, and the school was subsequently advised that Labor had withdrawn the funding.

The Elwood community deserves a government that honours its commitments and provides schools with the infrastructure they need, rather than one that makes promises and then walks away from them.

Quotes attributable to James Newbury MP, Member for Brighton:

“Elwood Primary School has been the beating heart of its community for more than a century. Labor has left children learning under scaffolding, classrooms closed because of structural damage, and hardworking staff standing in raw sewage. It is an absolute disgrace that Elwood Primary has been allowed to deteriorate to this extent.”

“Ben Carroll, when he was Education Minister, put in writing that these structural repairs would be made. Instead, Labor withdrew the funding and abandoned the school. This is yet another example of a Labor Government that has turned its back on our local community. Our $6 million investment will ensure that this wonderful school finally receives the support it deserves.”

Quotes attributable to Brad Rowswell MP, Shadow Minister for Education:

“The Victorian Labor government has had years to do the right thing by the Elwood Primary, but they have failed to do so.

“In James Newbury, they have the strongest of advocates, someone who deeply understands the needs of the school and is driven to do the right thing by students and families and teachers.”