Page 3922 - Week 13 - Thursday, 17 October 1991
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School Closures
MR HUMPHRIES: My question is addressed to the Minister for Education in the hope that he treats the institution of question time a little more seriously than his colleague the Minister for Urban Services does. My question concerns education demographics. I remind the Minister of comments that he made on 15 May last year, reported in the Canberra Chronicle of that date as follows:
Inevitably, because of demographic changes some schools have to close.
I ask the Minister: Does he still believe that some schools have to close, particularly in light of the fact that we now have more schools and more empty places than we did when the Alliance left office earlier this year?
MR WOOD: Mr Speaker, it would be a foolish person who would stand up here, or anywhere, and say that in a period of some years' time well into the future we will have the same configuration of schools that we have now. Mr Humphries, let me tell you: Times do change. It would be an even more foolish person, as you were, who would walk out of one's office one day and say, "We are going to close a quarter of our schools this year", which is exactly what you did. There is no question about that.
Certainly, circumstances change and governments adjust to it, and the communities in Canberra will adjust to it. If, Mr Humphries, you had walked out one day and said, "Look, the demographics of this Territory are going to change. We are moving out into the suburbs. I am going to institute a procedure whereby schools will be notified of enrolment changes, whereby they will respond to those enrolment changes by varying their curriculum and whereby, if things do become unsustainable, communities will pass a view after this has occurred over a period of some years", I would think that you would have successfully negotiated some change. It takes time, Mr Humphries. That is a lesson that you had to learn, and which this whole community had to impose on you, after bitter debate.
School Bus Services
MRS NOLAN: Mr Speaker, my question is addressed to Mr Connolly in his capacity as Minister for Urban Services. Minister, I understand that there are some school bus services that will be no longer operational at the beginning of the 1992 school year. How many services will be affected? What consultation has taken place with the schools, parents and children? When will the announcements be made?
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