Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson announces plan for primary school at Moore Creek

Population projections see Tamworth reaching 70,000 people by 2041, and much of that growth is expected to be in the Moore Creek area, where roughly 14,000 residents are expected to live.

However, the only two primary schools in that region are Tamworth Public and Oxley Vale Public, with the latter being the last primary school to be built in the city, all the way back in 1971.

Mr Anderson said now was the time to act and get a school underway, as opposed to waiting until overcrowding in the current schools becomes a problem.

"They are at capacity, so I think what we do need to do is start planning now so we don't miss the boat, the education money that the minister has set aside, I want us to get out fair share," he said.

"So I think it's the right time to start planning to looking at building a new school around Moore Creek somewhere."

The process is already underway to accumulate the data required by the NSW Department of Education to approve the building of a new school. Mr Anderson is hoping to cash in on the government's pledge to spend $7.9 billion on building and upgrading schools over the next four years.

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While filling student spots may not be a concern, Mr Anderson was pushed on how teachers were going to be attracted to the town, given there are already roughly 90 vacancies in the electorate according to the NSW Teachers' Federation.

Mr Anderson said he wasn't going to be worried out of the project.

"In terms of staffing it's like a lot of facilities, build it and they will come," he said.

"What we've got to do is continue to provide the services and provide the facilities that will attract people, and they want to work in good and modern facilities, so if you build it they will come.

"I won't stop just because someone says 'we don't have enough teachers so let's not build any more schools, let's not provide any more opportunities, let's not put any new ideas on the table', I don't operate like that."

He said it was too early to provide a concrete timeline or cost, as they will both be determined once the data is collected.

The Nationals MP also denied the announcement had been delayed until after the federal election had been called, in an effort to drum up support for his federal counterparts.

"Certainly not, this has been talked about in my office for some time in terms of forward planning, and I look at planning for our city in terms of the way it grows," he said.

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