East Brisbane State School still in limbo as cruel departmental mistake rips victory away from community campaign

Furious parents are urging the government to give a guarantee that East Brisbane State School will not need to vacate it’s current site after a departmental blunder gave them false hope.

Furious parents and Greens MP Amy McMahon are urging the government to give a guarantee that East Brisbane State School will not need to vacate its current site after a departmental blunder gave false hope of victory to the community.

The Department of State Development and Infrastructure provided a five-line statement to The Sunday-Mail, saying “East Brisbane State School will not need to relocate, however there may be disruptions for the school during construction phases.”

But five words had been accidentally left off the original statement – “by the end of 2025”.

The major blunder triggered an apology from Premier Steven Miles on Sunday who revealed the school still faced an uncertain future.

Mr Miles said while scrapping the demolition of the Gabba had taken the immediate pressure off, future growth projections for the area indicated the school would be unable to cope.

“It may still be necessary to move it down the track,” he said.

“We have plans for tens of 1000s of families to move into this area and clearly the current school is unlikely to be able to deliver the level of enrolments needed.

“We’ll continue to work with them on a long term plan to deliver education to all of the young people who are going to live here in this fantastic part of the world.”

Queensland Premier Steven Miles apologises over East Brisbane State School blunder. Picture: Richard Walker

Mr Miles said plans to upgrade the Gabba would need to be finalised before the fate of the school could be revealed.

“That means that the school can stay there at least for a bit longer,” he said.

East Brisbane State School P & C head Austin Gibbs said there was a lot of hurt in the community on Sunday morning.

“There was a lot of hope yesterday afternoon when the story broke in the media that there’d been a direct statement from the Department of State Planning that the school did not need to be relocated,” he said.

“This is a community that’s had a lot of uncertainty for the past two or three years.

“And it’s affected people’s lives. They don’t know whether to live in the area and move into the area or move out of the area.”

He said they received a phone call from the Department of State and Planning and Education Minister Di Farmer apologising for the mistake.

”There is no guarantee that the school will be staying where it is,” he said.

“And when that news got out to the community it’s hard to describe the level of hurt and frustration.

“I don’t think anyone was deliberately trying to be dishonest. But the lack of communication is very upsetting for a community that’s already faced a lot of uncertainty in the last couple of years.”

Greens MPs Amy MacMahon and Max Chandler-Mather, East Brisbane State School parents, students and residents rallying outside the Gabba. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Greens MP for South Brisbane Amy McMahon said the mistake gave the parents, kids and teachers false hope.

Instead, she said they were still in limbo because of the Olympics preparation.

“We are calling on the government to give a guarantee that the school will stay here but also that the school will get the additional investment that it was meant to get prior to the Olympics announcement,” Ms MacMahon said.

“This school was meant to get an additional, full story building to fit in new kids that has disappeared.

“It really seems like Labor has continued to deeper our prioritise state education.”

Mr Gibbs said when the news broke out families told their children the news immediately.

“A lot of people put the word out there that this was going to be a really true celebration that we were going to stay so I can only imagine the disappointment among the kids and the families this morning,” he said.

Huxley Fredericks 8yrs, Sadie Angus 11yrs, Lucinda Grey 8yrs, at East Brisbane State School. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Mr Gibbs said moving the school to Coorparoo Secondary College was not a viable solution and the extended period of impending destruction and uncertainty had already done its damage.

Education Minister Di Farmer on Saturday night personally apologised for the blunder.

The Department of State Development and Infrastructure provided a five-line statement to The Sunday Mail, which was also seen by the Department of Education without any issues being flagged, regarding the future of East Brisbane State School.

Crucially, in part, the statement said: “East Brisbane State School will not need to relocate, however there may be disruptions for the school during construction phases.”

A correction was later provided to read: “East Brisbane State School will not need to vacate its current site by the end of 2025. However, future works to the Gabba are expected to impact the school, and the government will work closely with the school community as those plans develop.”