Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 1 Hansard (13 December) . . Page.. 228 ..

MR CORBELL: It is a tremendous outcome for the students involved in that program. It is the sort of program that I believe we should show bipartisan support for. It is not a matter of point scoring. I do not seek to point score on it, but I do seek to outline and emphasise the achievements of the year 10 students. Those students have a very strong level of competency in information technology, and we should all be very proud of their efforts.

This highlights the importance of continuing to invest in information technology in our schools to ensure that students are able to get access to the sort of information technology infrastructure they need. That is why this government is investing an additional $3 million in the government and Catholic school systems to address needs in information technology-$3 million that the Liberal Party would have spent on free school buses.

MRS CROSS: Mr Deputy Speaker, I have a supplementary question. Mr Corbell, I just want to confirm what you just said and make sure that I understood correctly. Are you saying you are going to continue with ICT testing in government schools, recognising the growing need for our students to be information technology literate?

MR CORBELL: Yes.

Road safety

MS GALLAGHER: My question, which concerns road safety, is to the Minister for Urban Services. The last couple of days in the ACT has seen some horrific accidents on our roads. As well as the three tragic deaths, others have been injured. I would like to send my sincere sympathy to the families and friends of those affected by these accidents. Minister, what is this government doing to improve road safety in the ACT over the Christmas-January holiday period?

MR WOOD: Like Ms Gallagher, I extend my sympathy to the families and friends of those involved in those latest accidents. They are always times of great sadness. Indeed, tonight in the adjournment debate, one of those deaths will be mentioned.

Mr Deputy Speaker, the customary road safety campaigns will continue. My colleague Mr Quinlan assures me that the police in the ACT will be mounting a strong Christmas traffic campaign. It begins at midnight tomorrow night and will target the three major causes of serious accidents-speeding, drink driving and failure to wear seatbelts. Again, as in the past, double demerit points for speeding will apply over the Christmas-New Year period.

But there is an additional measure that the government will be taking. This year there will be double demerit points for the offence of failing to wear seatbelts, and I hope that has some impact.

But there is more that can be done, I believe. Yesterday Mrs Cross raised the issue of the road signs which were put up to inform the people of Canberra about various road works. It seems sensible to use some of those signs. So I am proposing to put blades or overlays on eight of the existing signs that are in prominent locations, and those overlays will contain road safety messages. I am advised that these eight signs can be redone by Friday

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .