Page 3051 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 11 September 1990
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There appears to be a perception that the Government is being uniquely harsh in implementing its limited school consolidation program. This is quite wrong. Changing school funding arrangements to reduce costs is not unique to the ACT. The Victorian Government has made what the Melbourne Age describes as "the most savage cuts to Victorian education in decades". Sixteen hundred teaching positions in secondary schools will be endangered and average class sizes will be increased. In Tasmania, 2,000 public service positions are being shed, of which a number are expected to be teacher positions. It is not unique to the ACT.
It is inevitable that some people in the community will be inconvenienced by school closures. The Government regrets this. However, the alternatives available to reduce our overspending on education - such as increasing class sizes, cutting supplementary services such as special education, reading recovery or the English as a second language program, or reductions in the number of teachers - would have had a direct negative impact on the quality of education delivery, with far more serious consequences.
The Government is satisfied that its decisions are correct, and I cannot - and this is for Mr Moore's benefit - in conscience, allow resources of considerable magnitude to lie idle or grossly under-used in schools, when they are desperately needed to satisfy the needs of the ageing, the disabled and the disadvantaged. I ask that we all now devote our efforts to making sure that our children continue to enjoy the quality education that this Territory is renowned for.
We can reduce the future impact of demographic change by sensible planning decisions. The Commonwealth's own joint parliamentary committee has sensibly urged the Commonwealth to release its large tracts of land in Belconnen and Jerrabomberra. On the other hand, it has queried the National Capital Plan's designation of land in West Belconnen for urban uses. The Government respects the committee's concerns, but considers the National Capital Plan must continue to allow this land to be used for urban development. The Territory Plan will, of course, pick up all the issues that arise, if such use is permitted; and they include environmental concerns and access to community services. But they also include ensuring adequate population to keep existing schools and other facilities viable and containing future infrastructure expenditure.
I wish to emphasise that the Government expects to achieve recurrent budget savings of $1m in 1990-91 and $3m in a full year - in every full year - from school consolidations. This program will significantly reduce the number of surplus school places. One-time implementation costs are estimated to total $3m, much of it overdue refurbishment of receiving schools. Details are provided in the supplementary budget statement.
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