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Minister Wrong On Minimbah Alternatives

Claims by the State Government that there are alternatives to the Minimbah Hostel City Camp as low cost, safe accommodation for country students are ridiculous, according to Gippsland MP Peter Hall.

By Peter Hall - 7th March 2005 - Back to News

The Nationals have slammed the closure of Minimbah, which has for many years provided low-cost accommodation to regional and rural schools for city camps, work experience and Melbourne excursions.

Mr Hall said a letter to him from Education and Training Minister, Lynne Kosky, demonstrated again that the Government had not done its homework before deciding to close Minimbah.

"The Minister is now suggesting that the Urban Camp in Parkville is an alternative for country school children.

"The only problem is, it is not available."

Mr Hall said while the Urban Camp was a great facility, it already had 500 schools as members of its co-operative.

"It is fully booked for several years ahead and if the Minister had bothered to call the Urban Camp, as I did, she would know this," Mr Hall said. "Put simply, the Urban Camp in Parkville cannot cope with those schools and students displaced from Minimbah.

"The other ‘alternatives’ suggested by the Minister cater to pack backers and people of mixed ages and are far more expensive.

"With the Government claiming to do much to improve safety of children, through police checks and the like, it is ludicrous to close an excellent and safe facility for children visiting Melbourne and expect them to doss in with back packers and travellers of all ages and genders from all over the world."

Mr Hall said the Government needed to go back to the drawing board and undertake some proper investigation.

"We still believe Minimbah is a facility that can provide this accommodation.

"Yes, it needs some up-keep, but there are no other real alternatives. Unless proper alternatives can be found, Minimbah should remain open and should be upgraded.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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