THREE months after the State government announced sweeping cuts to rural education, the fight to keep the Moora Residential College (MRC) open is not over.
Hundreds of residents, business owners, school students and farmers from Moora and surrounding shires are expected to make their way to State Parliament alongside a convoy of farm machinery, next Tuesday, March 13, in a bid to reverse the government’s decision to close the only country residential facility between Perth and Geraldton.
Since announcing the closure of the college in December, Education Minister Sue Ellery has remained firm on her decision, despite a backflip on several other education cuts and widespread public backlash.
The Labor Party has stood by its claims that keeping the MRC open would cost more than $8 million for a required renovation, a cost it could not justify in its current state of budget repair.
However, Central Midlands Senior High School P&C president Tracey Errington said the residential college only needed $500,000 to remain operational, based on figures from the most recent Building Condition Assessment conducted by Building Management and Works in 2012, which pinned reparation and maintenance costs at $160,000.
“We’ve worked on $160,000 in maintenance and repairs which is what the 2012 assessment said, plus on average funding to the college is about $350,000 per year,” Ms Errington said.
“That $350,000 will follow the students basically, so they’re still going to have to pay out $350,000 minimum in funding somewhere regardless of where the students go to school.”
According to an economic impact assessment released last month, the immediate direct cost of the closure of the MRC would lead to an annual reduction of $2m in local gross regional product (GRP) to Moora.
On top of this, the report found the town of more than 1600 people could suffer a population loss of 11 per cent over the next four years, a fall in housing prices, a drop in business confidence and a reduction in its ability to attract new residents, workers and businesses.
Ms Errington said the decision to close the school would have far-reaching, long-term consequences to the entire region, some of which were already being realised.
“One of the suppliers that supplies a couple of the shops in town is already saying that if the college closes it may not be viable anymore for them to service Moora on a weekly basis,” Ms Errington said.
“We know there’s parents who have already looked at alternatives for their kids, not just the boarders but local parents as well, and we do have teachers that apparently have already put in for other positions.”
Ms Errington said several school students would be taking the day off school on Tuesday, and many Moora businesses would shut to show their support for the MRC.
“We’ve made no bones about it this time, we’ve told the parents to get their kids out of school and bring them down to the rally, as the P&C we shouldn’t be condoning that but in this case we are because it’s really important that these kids are involved in it because it ultimately affects them,” Ms Errington said.
“We’ve said shut down your business, put on skeleton staff, whatever you have to do because it does concern others in town too.
“We’ve got a lot of Perth people going, people that are ex-country or friends of people that are able to get there so hopefully we’ll get a big turnout.”
Those attending the rally will meet at Langley Park at 10am and march to State Parliament for a 11:30am protest start.
Ms Errington said a large convoy of agricultural machinery had also been arranged to travel through St George’s Terrace ahead of the protest.
“We’ve got people bringing their tipper trailers in, we’ve got people bringing semis, we’ve got one of the local buses that’s all painted up in the football club colours, people with their utes with a bit of chalk paint on it with the messages,” Ms Errington said.
“We encourage everyone to get there and show them that it’s not just 27 kids affected, it’s the 27 that come after them, its the 150 left behind at the high school and its the rest of the town and the region, because it’s going to affect all of the feeder schools around us as well.
“We’re hoping for a reversal whichever way they do it and we’re willing to compromise as long as it’s done.”
Ms Errington said several groups had thrown their support behind the rally, including the Moora Shire, WAFarmers, the Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA (PGA), the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association of WA (ICPA), the Country Women’s Association of WA (CWA) and the wider Wheatbelt community.
An invitation has been extended to Ms Ellery, Premier Mark McGowan, Treasurer Ben Wyatt and Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan.
For more information on the rally go to savemooracollege.com.au/
