Premier admits school toilets poor
Colin Barnett has admitted toilet facilities at Hampton Senior High School are not of an acceptable standard, but dismissed claims they are "Third World".
Federal Labor MP Alannah MacTiernan, who raised the alarm about the rundown toilet blocks at the Morley high school, described them on Monday as "disgraceful" and "what you would expect if you went into a public lavatory in the backblocks of Indonesia".
The Premier said yesterday though he accepted the toilets were not up to standard and needed to be improved, it was irresponsible to say they were Third World. "We have a fantastic education system in WA and the facilities, while some might be old, would be the envy of almost anywhere in the world," Mr Barnett said.
He said he understood works were planned for the toilets at the school and there was a "job to be done" to upgrade some older high schools.
He said the move towards modern, bigger high schools began when Shenton College was built in the late 1990s.
"Many of our high schools in WA, particularly in Perth, were built in the 60s and 70s," Mr Barnett said.
"They don't meet modern standards and have deteriorated. That's one of the reasons the focus of the State Government is very much on rebuilding or replacing high schools."
