Page 732 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 24 March 1993
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The whole approach of this Government is appalling. They have read more into my motion than I intended. I certainly want them to deal flexibly with the matter of school closures in the interests of educational fairness and equity. I would suggest to you that you are going to have to address this anyway because it is inevitable that we are going to end up with small schools in the future. I have not seen the 1993 census yet, Minister. I have asked for it in a question on notice. I do not know why it should take all this time to prepare. After all, the school year began on 1 February.
Mr Kaine: Because it has some embarrassing statistics.
MR CORNWELL: Maybe it has some embarrassing statistics, Mr Kaine. I acknowledge that interjection. The Government is going to be put to the test, ultimately, to make responsible, intelligent and educationally just decisions.
One of the other interesting points is this: What happens about this single-sex girls high school that, at the moment, is being mentioned? You may well find that there is a drift from other high schools to that high school, which may again question the viability at the high school level. Are you going to let one of those wither on the vine rather than take action because you do not want to break your promise? I would suggest, in the interests of education and the financial viability of all schools in the ACT government system, that you think again about that foolish promise. If you do not deal with them flexibly, if you have an inflexible commitment to this issue, you are facing education and financial disaster within the government school system. It is not a question of just Griffith Primary School. If you do not take the hard decisions, if you do not close your small schools when they are no longer viable, the entire ACT government school system will suffer. This is becoming very apparent already. We have a situation in Conder and Gordon where you are planning, and you have planned, for primary schools with a maximum of 750 pupils, Mr Wood.
Mr Wood: You just focus on numbers. It is meaningless.
MR CORNWELL: It is not meaningless, because there have been complaints from the P and C association that 750 primary school children are too many in a school. How can you have 750 at that end of the scale, and 100 or 120 at Cook or Lyons? There has to be some sensible levelling out in this business, Mr Wood.
Mr Wood: Do you want every school to have 501 students, or something, and not vary from that?
MR CORNWELL: No, I do not. I want it to be economically and educationally viable, and this is the point that we have been making in this motion. That is why we are asking you to be flexible in the problem of the school closures. Do not put your head in the sand and ignore them, because, if you do, ultimately you will end up with a government school education disaster.
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