Page 2029 - Week 07 - Thursday, 24 June 2021
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We are talking about some very new communities in the ACT and some ageing communities in the ACT—some communities where the population is ageing and some where more of the population are younger families. We were very clear throughout the election—and in the last budget we committed $2 million to feasibility work—that we would do that work with communities and to look at exactly where these centres will be located. We repeatedly made those comments to journalists throughout the election and encouraged them to be very, very clear that we were talking about a mix of appointment-based services and immediate care, and that these would not be the same as the existing nurse-led walk-in centres that are so well loved by Canberrans and that the Liberals have finally decided they need to support, because Canberrans welcome them so much.
MR HANSON: I have a further supplementary question. Minister, will you now apologise to the people that you allowed to be misled?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mr Hanson for the question and completely reject the premise of it.
Mr Steel: Point of order: I think Mr Hanson just implied that the minister has misled, and that is clearly unparliamentary language.
Mrs Jones: On the point of order: Mr Hanson did not suggest that the minister had misled, but that she had allowed people to be misled.
MADAM SPEAKER: As members would know, the claim of misleading the Assembly is only made through a substantive motion. My understanding of the words was that they were “allowed the community to be misled”. That has been bandied around, unfortunately, across the chamber before. I caution members to be very mindful of their language. We had an incident earlier in the week where people were jumping to conclusions, as well, so I ask members to be very mindful.
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I have completed my answer.
Schools—school banking
MR DAVIS: My question is to the Minister for Education and Youth Affairs. Minister, in February I was delighted that this Assembly unanimously supported my motion to phase out school banking programs by mid-2021. Given that the ACT government committed to transition away from school banking programs by the end of this financial year, could the minister update the Assembly on this transition process?
MS BERRY: The transition is still occurring right now. The ACT Education Directorate is assisting the 12 schools that are left who have been using school banking to ensure that they can cease their school banking and have those programs end, in line with the motion that we all supported.
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