Page 1229 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 23 August 1989
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can reassure the Assembly that the Department of Education gives a particularly high priority to teaching care of the environment. The Department provides curriculum frameworks to assist all teachers and schools to develop their programs. The environment is a major theme in three separate curriculum frameworks: in social education, in science, and in technology.
Many schools and colleges also have innovative extracurricular activities, such as the waste watch project at North Belconnen schools and the Children of the Green Earth Club at Hughes Primary School. Some schools have developed their own environmental and recycling centres. In addition, the Birrigai outdoor school and the Dairy Flat Education Centre offer, and will continue to offer, special environmental programs. Sunship Earth and Earthkeepers at Birrigai and environmental farming practices at the Dairy Flat Centre are examples of those programs.
The Government, in its budget, has also indicated an intention to allocate a substantial sum for capital works in order to enhance the facilities at Birrigai. The Department of Education recently formed an environmental education working party to promote environmental awareness and to encourage all schools and the office to take an active part in conserving the environment. It is also participating in national environmental projects.
MR MOORE: I have a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. Would the Minister mind telling me whether, in fact, the proposed reduction to the staff at Birrigai will go ahead, especially considering that their program, Sunship 3, along with the other programs that he mentioned, will be put at risk by that staff reduction?
MR WHALAN: Mr Speaker, there is no reason at all to expect that any of the environmental programs, which I have just indicated to the Assembly extend right across the area of the schooling system, should be at risk or in jeopardy as a result of the Government's budget statement.
ACT Budget
MR WOOD: In yesterday's debate on the Federal budget there were serious questions about the assumptions underlying the ACT budget in view of the forecasts in the Federal budget. Chief Minister, can you explain if there are any difficulties in this area?
MS FOLLETT: I thank Mr Wood for the question. Indeed, Mr Kaine did make such a statement yesterday in his response. During my statement yesterday on the Commonwealth budget and related financial matters I said that the Commonwealth has changed some of the parameters that we have used in calculating our estimates and that this will have the effect of marginally increasing our outlays. This will be
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