Teachers, Parents and Students Let Down By School Air-Conditioning Delays

Media Release | 24 January 2026

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Liam Staltari MLA
Shadow Minister for Education;
Early Childhood; Disability Services; Heritage

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The State Opposition has slammed the Cook Labor Government for failing to deliver on its
‘Cool the Schools’ election promise, with just three of the 45 promised schools receiving
air-conditioning upgrades nearly a year after commitments were made.

The $89 million air-conditioning upgrade promise at 45 schools was heavily spruiked by WA
Labor during the March 2025 State Election campaign.

Shadow Education Minister Liam Staltari said that the Government’s delivery fell well short
of what was promised.

“As with so many of this Government’s claims, what is announced at election time does
not match what is delivered after the polls close,” Mr Staltari said.

“Nearly a full year on, only three of the 45 promised schools have actually had their air-conditioning upgraded – parents and teachers will be forgiven for feeling very let down.”

Mr Staltari said the situation was made worse by the Government’s failure to fully fund the
program in its 2025-26 State Budget.

“Astonishingly, the Government has only funded half of these upgrades in its Budget to a
value of $43 million – which means half of the promised schools have zero dollars
allocated against them,” he said.

“What’s worse, they have refused to come clean on which schools are next and which will
be forced to wait for years. It’s a betrayal of these school communities’ trust.

“School starts in just over a week. As students head back to class, I’m sure most of these
communities would have expected upgraded air-conditioning to be installed already, or at
the very least, an allocation of money or a timetable for installation.”

The delays to ‘Cool the Schools’ sit against a backdrop of surging air-conditioning issues
across WA public schools. Figures provided in response to Opposition questions have
confirmed that the total number of maintenance requests for broken air-conditioning
nearly doubled in just two years – up from 5,662 in 2023 to 10,409 in 2025.

“The Government need to get their priorities right – because every delay risks another
scorching summer of students and teachers sweltering in the heat,” Mr Staltari said.

Media Contact: Graham Mason – 0419 194 792

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