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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 6 Hansard (18 June) . . Page.. 2080 ..

MS MacDONALD

We are committed to ensuring that public funding for education is made available on the basis of need. That is sensible. It is also sound public policy. Keeping the funding within the non-government sector means that all schools can benefit from the funding, not just a few. The issue here is about targeting current funds more effectively and equitably, not removing capacity from the non-government system.

Mr Pratt made the comment that we are jeopardising the existence of non-government schools. That is just rubbish. Non-government schools are not going to close overnight as a result of the shutting down of the interest subsidy scheme over 15 years. That will not suddenly jeopardise the non-government sector. A very small amount of the money for non-government schools comes from the ISS.

Mr Speaker, keeping the funding within the non-government sector means that all schools can benefit from the funding, not just a few. Mr Corbell gave us a lot of the figures earlier about where the ISS funding is going. Members of the opposition can stand in their places for as long as they like and talk until they are blue in face about parents working three jobs, parents doing this, parents doing that and parents not being from the particularly wealthy side of the fence.

We are not arguing that, Mr Speaker; we are arguing that the most affluent schools should not be getting funding from public dollars. We must take into account that this is not the only place that they get their funding from. The issue here is about targeting recurrent funds more effectively and equitably, not removing capacity from the non-government system.

The government is committed to consultation with the non-government sector in determining priorities for retargeting the interest subsidy funding as it becomes available, which it is not at the moment. There is no funding available at the moment. There has not been for, I think, close to two years.

The consultation starts with work to implement the student centred resource allocative arrangements for students with disabilities, the area where it needs to go. The interest subsidy scheme has a funding upper limit of $2.8 million. All existing approvals are being honoured, as I said just a while ago, and funds will be required until 2019 to honour this commitment.

The interest subsidy scheme is closed only to new entrants. I might add that the Blue Gum School cannot get access to the ISS because there is no money in it at the moment as it has all gone to places like boys grammar. For what reason? "Let's give boys grammar individual air-conditioning because that's really what the ISS is about."Funds from the scheme will become available only when existing projects are completed. It will not be until the 2005-06 financial year that funds of any significant level will become available for redirection. Interest on loans for capital purposes is a normal business expense. All non-government schools will benefit from receiving increased funding as the scheme's funds become available for redistribution.

It is clear from the evidence provided in the Connors report about the scheme's recipients that the scheme has outlived its usefulness. Most recipients are well-resourced schools using the funds to finance extensions. As the Connors report points out, the

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