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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (20 November) . . Page.. 3875 ..

Mr Wood: He did not know about it.

MR HUMPHRIES: He did. He did know about it. I am sure that he knew about it at that stage.

Mr Wood: No, he did not.

Mr Berry: Are you sure? Did you tell him? Did you tell him during the meeting?

MR HUMPHRIES: All right; Mr Speaker, obviously those opposite know better than I do on that subject. Let me say that I am quite prepared to discuss it with the chair of the Cultural Council and indeed the whole Cultural Council. I also met with the whole Cultural Council about 10 days ago, and they did not mention it either.

Mr Berry: Did you tell them? Did you mention it at the meeting?

MR HUMPHRIES: No; because it was not my initiative and it was not my job to do that. Mr Speaker, this is a whole-of-government reform. It is not within my purview to say that we are going to exempt the cultural sector from that process. It is only a trial. That is the opportunity for people to see how it works. If it does not work very well, then obviously we will have to reconsider it.

MS McRAE: Mr Speaker, my question is to Mr Stefaniak, in his capacity as Minister for Education. Minister, what process has been put in place to ensure that the twinning of Phillip and Stirling colleges is achieved without disruption to the students and teachers? Who is coordinating and managing the procedure? Will the students and teachers be expected to travel between both colleges? If so, what form of transport will they be using, and will the time it takes between colleges be factored into the timetables? Where are the staff and faculty meetings going to take place? Will these new procedures be finalised before the end of the school term?

MR STEFANIAK: Ms McRae mentioned a number of things there. A number of things are happening with the twinning of Phillip and Stirling colleges. Both college communities are working towards that very effectively. The principal's position has been advertised. We have a principal now at Phillip College, Mr Speaker. The principal's position for the twinned college will be filled by the end of the year. I am pleased to say that the process has been travelling very well.

Mr Speaker, I think it is important to emphasise that both Phillip and Stirling colleges will provide their advertised curriculum for 1997 and 1998. So students need not travel. Ms McRae asked: Will the students have to travel to both campuses? The answer is no. Students will not be made to travel between campuses unless, by their own choice, they elect for a course offered on the alternative campus. A follow-up question from that, I suppose, would be: Will student travel reduce learning time? Again, the answer to that is no, because over time, Mr Speaker, the timetables at both campuses will be synchronised.

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