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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 01 Hansard (Wednesday, 11 February 2004) . . Page.. 259 ..

our schoolchildren placed in dangerous situations, for the obvious fact that we do not want our schoolchildren hurt but also for the fact that it could lead to compensation claims. We have just rewritten our insurance and compensation laws, and the government could be open to pay quite a lot of money because of serious accidents happening in front of our schools.

Schools have a duty of care to their students while they are at school and also when on their way to and from school. That is the issue we need to be aware of. We have talked about whether or not all school crossings are adequate and what has been happening at Amaroo. We have briefly touched on the issue of Fraser primary. Fraser primary has been trying to get adequate school crossings for over 20 years. The community in Fraser is amazed that Amaroo primary on its second day of opening managed to get a school crossing when, after 20 years, Fraser primary is still without a school crossing. I hope that this debate will lead to a greater assessment of what has been going on.

If assessments have been going on, as the minister has put forward, then the question needs to be answered of why Fraser primary has not had a school crossing there for the last 20 years, even though the residents of Fraser and of the surrounding areas have been quite vocal in their concerns about what has been happening there.

To the list of concerns about school crossings I will add what has been happening at the front of Canberra high school. Yes, there is a crossing over Bindubi Street into Canberra high, but concerns have been raised by the P&C quite recently about the traffic travelling along Bindubi Street at speed, about access to the car park and about the changes that have been happening at the Jamison centre. There is an obvious need to look at that issue, and I hope it will be caught up in this review.

I am glad that Ms Tucker has put her amendment forward, which moves the issue from just school crossings to traffic management around schools as well as traffic management and traffic around childcare centres and older persons facilities. It is a very important move to expand this review so that it looks at where people are vulnerable when they are crossing roads to access facilities that the government provides.

The Minister for Urban Services talked about a continuing assessment process that appears to come into train when the department is asked to look at an issue, or where the department believes there is a need, as opposed to an ongoing review that is always in train and always looking at schools. Perhaps that would be financially prohibitive. What this motion is calling for today is a bit of a shake-up—a complete review—so that we can see that the reviews that happen when they are asked for actually pick up all the issues.

While we are talking about access to schools and school crossings, I will draw the attention of the Assembly—I know that members might not be aware of this—to what is happening at Ngunnawal school in relation to its proximity to the Whitehaven estate. The Whitehaven estate has actually put up a gate, which means that kids are having problems getting to school. I know that the ministers are aware of this and ACTPLA is trying to work with the body corporate at Whitehaven estate to find an acceptable solution.

Again, because of all the attention that has been given to Amaroo having a school crossing on day 2, it is now quite substantially into the school term and Whitehaven

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