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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 2 Hansard (28 February) . . Page.. 371 ..

MR KAINE (continuing):

What means are open to them? Mr Osborne has pointed out that they have a budget and they have to live within that budget. I am sure that it does not provide for the provision of capital items. It is an operating budget. Does the minister give the schools a budget for capital items? I am sure that expenditure on heating and airconditioning equipment would be considered anywhere else as capital expenditure rather than operating expenditure. Is there such a provision in their budget? I very much doubt it. The reason there would not be is that it would be a decision and a responsibility of the department to set that standard. When a temporary classroom is being built, I would think that it should have airconditioning and heating equipment built into it as a matter of course, right from day one. There should not be a debate further downstream about whether those facilities ought to be provided and by whom.

Mr Speaker, I support Mr Berry's motion because I think that it is a fair and reasonable one. It is in the interests of students and it is in the interests of parents who might otherwise be required somehow to find the money themselves to put the necessary equipment in these schools. That would be unfair and unreasonable. I support the motion but, as I say, I do have some concern with Mr Osborne's amendment. I understand why he is moving it, but I think that it brings us down very much to specifics and I think that Mr Berry's motion, which is more general in its application and applies to school children anywhere, regardless of whether they are in temporary classrooms or permanent ones, places responsibility on the government and the department to provide the necessary facilities. I think I would prefer that broader approach to the narrow one being addressed by Mr Osborne.

MR OSBORNE: I seek leave to speak again briefly, Mr Speaker.

Leave granted.

MR OSBORNE: I seek leave to withdraw my amendment, having listened to the wise old sage over there, Mr Kaine.

Leave granted.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

MR OSBORNE: I seek leave to move a second amendment.

Leave granted.

MR OSBORNE: I move:

The amendment leaves Mr Berry's general motion in place, but I think that it is important to be quite specific about the demountable classrooms. Clearly, they are a problem, especially in a number of schools in my electorate, not just Gordon primary. I think that there are more primary school students in demountables at Conder than at Gordon. It is an issue that we do need to focus on. I think my amendment would satisfy

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