Page 2337 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 1 November 1989
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In general, no school will be closed or amalgamated unless the school agrees.
School, preschool - it is all part of the child's education. Mr Humphries has already gone on and quoted further from that statement and I will not continue with that. However, the parents of children in those five preschools that the Department of Education has written to would, I am sure, agree totally with our concerns today. I am sure also that parents of young children, people without children and grandparents all share our concerns; in fact, the whole community is concerned.
Mr Speaker, the other fundamental question that needs to be addressed is just who is responsible for the decisions that are being taken. The chief education officer says one thing and the Minister says another. I would like to quote from a press release from Belconnen Preschool Action. It certainly sums the situation up very well. It is headed "Dr Willmot deceives Preschool Parents and his Minister". It goes on to say:
At a public meeting held on Wednesday night Dr Eric Willmot, Chief Education Officer for the ACT stated: "The idea of closing viable preschools is nonsense. The Government of this State, the ACT, has no intention of closing viable preschools". Dr Willmot pledged that no preschool with more than 17 students would be closed next year.
MR SPEAKER: Order! The time for this discussion has expired.
GOVERNMENT'S POLICY ON PRESCHOOLS
MR HUMPHRIES, by leave: I move:
That this Assembly -
(1) notes that ACT Labor Party policy states that: "In general, no school will be closed or amalgamated unless the school community agrees";
(2) notes with concern the damaging speculation surrounding Government plans to close preschools in Canberra despite strong opposition from preschool communities and the ACT community in general;
(3) notes with concern the conflicting information regarding preschool closures and amalgamations provided by the Minister for Education and his chief education officer; and
(4) urges the Labor Government to end speculation of this kind by immediate publication of its criteria for preschool closures and by entering into full and real consultation with affected preschool communities.
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