Page 381 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 13 May 1992
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I think it is appropriate to call on the Labor Government to make a strong commitment to the high school development program, including the resources to carry it out. I urge Mr Wood to indicate what his plans are. I take great pleasure in supporting the motion of Ms Szuty.
MR LAMONT (11.19): Madam Speaker, I draw your attention to standing order 213. It is obvious that Mr Moore was quoting from a document which I observe has a heading "ACIL" and a second document from the H.R. Nicholls Society entitled "A tiger on your tail?". I propose that those documents be tabled.
MADAM SPEAKER: Are you moving that motion, Mr Lamont?
MR LAMONT: Yes, I am. I move:
That the documents quoted from by Mr Moore be tabled.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
MR WOOD (Minister for Education and Training, Minister for the Arts and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning) (11.20): Madam Speaker, I welcome Ms Szuty and Mr Moore to our ranks. One of Ms Szuty's first measures has been to propose:
That the newly elected ACT Labor Government implement at the earliest opportunity a high schools development program.
She has, no doubt, as Mr Cornwell has, read our Labor Party policy, which I will now quote, though it hardly needs it because it is so similar. Rosemary Follett, in the course of the election campaign, announced - - -
Mr De Domenico: Is this the ACIL document, Bill?
MR WOOD: I will table this willingly. Ms Follett said that the ALP will "develop a long-term plan for the appropriate funding and development of high schools in the ACT in close cooperation with teachers, parents and students". So, you can see that the Government has no dispute with this motion. We support our own proposal. That is very clear.
Let me report to the Assembly what is happening. The development program is being prepared. In fact, it is close to completion. The program is being merged with studies that I got under way in July last year, as Mr Cornwell indicated. Soon after my appointment as Minister I authorised the release of the document that he mentioned, the high schools development discussion paper. About nine months later, after a great deal of discussion - perhaps it may have been a bit slower than we first thought - the outcome is nearing its completion. Given the tone of the debate, I will shortly table in this Assembly the high school development plan. I will be very interested in the debate that that brings forth.
The high school development plan is substantially a completed document. It is in its - I suppose I will put in inverted commas - "final form". Although it will be tabled here, it will be released to the key players who have been discussing it, such as the principals association and the P and C council. It may be subject to some modification, but I think there has been sufficient debate thus far for it to be effectively in final form. It has been well discussed. That discussion has taken into account the various documents that have been mentioned today - the
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