Page 1618 - Week 06 - Thursday, 3 May 1990
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clearly inappropriate and inadequate for this type of activity. They were based on a managerial-style decision making process, which in these sorts of circumstances is quite inappropriate. There is much more to decisions than just drawing circles on a map based on the location of the school, then using the resulting circles as a starting point for the closure of schools. That was the reason why there was so much community outrage and concern at the time.
While the community that I represented on the council was not directly threatened by these bureaucratic-style decisions, we saw that the criteria that were being used at that time were clearly inappropriate for this sort of exercise. I am pleased that the lessons of that past process have been well and truly learnt by the bureaucrats within the administration of the education system. That was the reason why the changes that Mr Wood referred to took place; that was the reason why decisions were reversed in that area - because the criteria that were being used to identify the schools for closure were developed without any community consultation. It was a managerial-type solution to the problem. As Mr Wood has acknowledged, the criteria will be open to public consultation. As my colleague Dr Kinloch has already said, the interim council which he chaired has already looked at the start of this process.
Mr Wood: Were you around when Deakin High School was proposed for closure?
MR JENSEN: I think, Mr Wood - through you, Mr Speaker - if that was at the time when all the other closures took place around the ACT, closures on the north side, yes, that was the case. And that Mr Wood, as I have already indicated, was probably why that decision was changed, on the basis that the criteria were not adequate. It is not good enough to put lines and circles on a map. There is more to it than that. Issues such as getting people to and from school and busy roads were not taken into account. They were the sorts of issues that the people at the time looked at and those changes were made accordingly.
I am sure that the process that has been established and set in place by the Minister will provide ample opportunity for the community to be involved in the development of the criteria. I understand that some months ago in certain areas some schools even started to get together to ensure that, if amalgamations were required, they would be in a position to amalgamate with a minimum of fuss as soon as the decision was taken.
That shows that people out there in the community realise that there is some surplus capacity in our schools in the ACT and that they understand the requirements and that something has to be done. It is good to see the community in this area taking those sorts of initiatives to develop these areas because they have an interest in their schools and the future education of the children.
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