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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 13 Hansard (3 December) . . Page.. 4314 ..

MR STEFANIAK: Secondly, in relation to preschool sizes, until recently we were adopting exactly the same thing you lot did when you were in government.

Ms McRae: You have not at Monash. Why did you change? Answer the question.

MR STEFANIAK: I might indicate, Ms McRae, that, apart from just the offer of places from the August census, my office is looking at a number of other things as well. As I think was indicated during the Estimates Committee process and even perhaps only a couple of weeks ago as well, we will ensure that the previous patterns of enrolment, particularly in areas which have historically had shifting populations in December and January, such as the inner north and south especially, are given due consideration in planning for preschool staffing. And also, Mr Speaker - - -

Mr Berry: Mr Speaker, I take a point of order. Confine him to the subject matter, as clearly mentioned in the standing orders. Ms McRae asked the Minister why they changed the policy. He does not seem to be able to get a grip on that. Can you tell us why the policy was changed?

MR SPEAKER: Order! You know perfectly well that Ministers can answer questions as they see fit. It would have been difficult for me to hear what the Minister was saying, anyway, because of the interjections. There is no point of order.

MR STEFANIAK: Unlike you lot, Mr Berry, we actually do consult. We actually do listen to people. I have talked to the preschool association in relation to this. As a result of a fair bit of discussion in relation to the general issue of preschools over the last couple of months, the department is reviewing the existing system to ensure maximum flexibility in meeting parents' needs and giving particular regard to such things as appropriate weight to previous patterns of enrolment, particularly in areas which have traditionally had shifting populations, for example - this is not absolutely exclusive; it is as an example - defence personnel. There are areas of Canberra where we have traditional movements of academic staff as well. There are some areas where, around the December and January period, you do get families moving in, and those things do need to be taken into account.

We are also looking at the appropriateness of preschool enrolment areas as a basis for preschool staffing, and the effectiveness of current procedures for determining projected enrolments. All those things are very sensible, Mr Speaker. All those things are as a result of concerns expressed by the preschool association in relation to how things used to be done, and all those things will lead to a much more effective handling of preschools in the future.

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