Page 1341 - Week 07 - Thursday, 24 August 1989
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contributions to provide additional services to their students, such as specialist musical instruments. Principals are well aware of this policy, and any suggestions of breaches of the policy are followed up most assiduously by the management of the Education Department.
I am assured that individual students are not discriminated against on the basis of non-payment of voluntary contributions. Given the concern raised, however, I will ask the chief education officer again to remind schools of the requirement of this policy which dates back to the former ACT Schools Authority. I am quite happy to table a copy of the specific policy, which is under the heading "Parental contributions policy, related topics, financial arrangements between parents and citizens association and school boards, financial assistance by parents for preschools".
Business Enterprises
MR KAINE: I would like to ask a question of the Chief Minister which follows from the one that she answered a little while ago about the Labor Party's strong support for the private sector, and I refer back to the ALP's document Policies for a Fairer Canberra, which states:
An ACT Labor Government will own and operate government business enterprises in selective areas.
I ask the Chief Minister: What operations other than those already owned and operated by government are targeted? Given Commonwealth Government restraints and local government restraints, from where is it intended to acquire the funds to establish new public business enterprises? Are they to be set up in competition with existing private enterprise businesses? If so, does the Chief Minister see this policy as being supportive of the private sector?
MS FOLLETT: It is difficult to answer a purely hypothetical question.
Mr Kaine: It is not so hypothetical. It is from your policy.
MS FOLLETT: Mr Speaker, I think the policy that Mr Kaine has so ably read out to the Assembly is one that is indeed Labor Party policy, one that has the total support of this Government and one that the Government intends to abide by. I think there is no suggestion in that policy, Mr Speaker, that the Government will be going out and actively purchasing new government enterprises, which is the implication that Mr Kaine seems to be making.
Mr Kaine: It is not the implication at all. I am asking you about your policy, how you are going to implement it - - -
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