Lord Mayor supports Southbank Primary

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle and councillors have thrown their support behind the Southbank Residents’ Association’s (SRA) campaign to name the new primary school on Ferrars St Southbank Primary School.

In a letter addressed to Deputy Premier and Minister for Education James Merlino on October 27, the Lord Mayor called on Mr Merlino to consider naming the school Southbank Primary School.

“The school falls within the Southbank boundary and it is anticipated that perhaps up to 80 per cent of enrolments would come from Southbank,” he wrote.

“We would respectfully request that you consider naming the school Southbank Primary School.”

“We understand that Ferrars St is not within the boundaries of the City of Melbourne but the Southbank Residents’ Association has asked for the council’s lobbying to help with the naming of the school as Southbank Primary School.”

This latest push from the Lord Mayor comes after the State Government announced to Southbank Local News last month that it had already decided to name the school South Melbourne Primary.

As reported in the October edition of Southbank Local News, the Department of Education and Training (DET) had submitted a formal request to the City of Port Phillip to change the suburban boundaries to include the school in the South Melbourne locality. This request was only to be withdrawn following enquiries by Southbank Local News.

The school’s current interim name, South Melbourne Ferrars St Primary School, is inconsistent with the DET’s policy on naming schools. An official name should only be formalised following consultation and workshops with the community.

Many others in the community, including Fishermans Bend Ministerial Advisory Committee chair Meredith Sussex, say the school should be named after Montague.

However, despite the Lord Mayor and councillors’ recent letter, a spokesperson for Minister Merlino told Southbank Local News that the DET’s position on the school’s name hadn’t changed and that it wouldn’t be consulting the community.