Liam Staltari: Shadow education minister claims WA public schools overly reliant on transportable classrooms

The Opposition claims new figures revealing one in seven classrooms is a transportable shows the Cook Government has become far too reliant on the temporary measure to house WA’s growing school population. Shadow education minister Liam Staltari on Sunday said while transportables had a role to play, their use as a long-term solution in some public schools was reducing children’s access to important play space. Analysis of figures revealed in Parliament showed more than 3000 transportables were now in use, accounting for around 15 per cent of all classrooms. Another 839 were being used for other purposes, such as staffrooms, bathrooms and administration areas. Mr Staltari said the Government last year initially budgeted $67 million for transportables, but the 2025-26 Budget revealed an additional $35 million was spent in the last financial year to take the total 2024-25 spend to $102 million. “In its newly released Budget, the Government plans to spend another $71.7 million on transportables in the 2025-26 Budget year,” he said. “Transportables have a role to play in schools, particularly in alleviating spikes in student numbers while new builds are underway. “But temporary accommodation shouldn’t be a long-term solution for poor forward-planning by the Government or spending on the wrong priorities. “In some schools, large numbers of transportables are taking up valuable oval and play space, rather than being used as only a temporary transition to permanent facilities.” Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti said transportables had always played a part in the education system, though their quality had improved since she had to learn in one as a child. “Having transportables is just a part of managing some incredible student growth,” she said. “Sometimes, some schools go through a massive population boom, but that drops away as new schools are built, or as the suburb matures, so it’s very hard to build a school for peak capacity from day one. “We have a record investment in school buildings, and we continue to make sure that we both invest in a permanent infrastructure, but also support some of those temporary uplifts in student accommodation.” As revealed previously by The West Australian, 19 over-sized public primary schools have more than 800 students, with transportables encroaching on children’s outdoor play space.