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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 8 Hansard (25 October) . . Page.. 1982 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

I think it is unfortunate that consultation such as this did not take place two years ago. If you people had not just sat on your hands we might not be in this situation now.

Ms McRae: We were not going to close it, Mr Stefaniak. You are the one putting up the option to close it.

MR STEFANIAK: We are facing up to a problem, Ms McRae.

MR SPEAKER: Order!

Ms McRae: No, they are not. You are the problem.

MR STEFANIAK: We are facing up to a real problem and that problem has been there for about six years. Two years ago, as people in this chamber have mentioned to me - - -

Members interjected.

MR SPEAKER: The house will come to order! Ms McRae was heard in relative silence. I ask that the same courtesy be extended to the Minister.

MR STEFANIAK: If you had started that two years ago there might well have been ample time, but you did not. You sat on your hands and did nothing. You did not want to face up to the problem. The decline has been apparent for a number of years, and it should have been apparent even to you. However, sometimes it is difficult to determine exactly who the community is. Are they the people on the consultative committee who came up with those two options? Are they the 200 or so people at the meeting last night who voted to fight to keep the school open - after a fair bit of politicising, I might add? Some politicians and the media like a fight - heat and smoke and little light. We have seen some of this already this morning.

Or is the community those parents who are making their choices to send their children to other schools? They are making real choices, it seems. I have been advised that there are approximately 130 students in the Charnwood High School catchment area who are eligible to attend Year 7 next year. It is interesting to note, Mr Speaker, that nothing occurred in the media in relation to this until such time as those enrolments for next year were given to the school. There were no extraneous or external features which could interfere with enrolments. There was no media hype; there was nothing to indicate that there was anything that would cause concern at the school. Even so, so far only about 40 young people have indicated that they will enrol. In recent weeks it appears that this number has dwindled to about 30. That really is not viable. In August this year, I am told, there were about 270 attending the high school. At the same time, I have been advised that there were nearly 500 students living in the catchment area who attend other government high schools. On top of that, there are about 440 students in the same area who attend non-government high schools. Maybe that is an important message that the community is also sending to us.

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