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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 04 Hansard (Tuesday, 30 March 2004) . . Page.. 1267 ..

This bill replaces acts that were written over 100 years ago and it is the result of a lengthy and thorough consultation process; so it is a pleasure to be able to vote on legislation that has had such extensive consultation with stakeholders in the community and through this Assembly. It contrasts with a number of bills that have been brought before the Assembly, specifically in the last 12 months, that have been seemingly rushed through.

Education is fundamental to our society. In a rapidly changing world, the skills taught and the way in which we are taught, even when I was at school not that long ago, are completely different from the needs that we require now. Our educational needs change and continue to change; so we need teaching methods that teach adaptation, that teach about coping with change. They need to be able to teach children to learn, because education is a life-long process.

It is in our schooling years that for most of us our future is mapped out. It is where we spend all of our time from the ages around 5 to at least 16, our developmental years. It is important that we get it right. The skills we learn in school and the interests we develop shape people for the rest of their lives. Therefore, the legislation governing our education must allow for new ideas and policies. It must be inclusive and rewarding.

I believe that this bill before us today, to a large extent, sets the framework for this to be achieved. The education system is not the same as it was last century and even the century before that, and it will not be the same in centuries to come. I think it is therefore appropriate that we have legislation that reflects this and that is able to adapt to these changes. However, that being said, I do have some significant concerns with the bill and I will be moving a number of amendments to address those concerns.

I think it needs to be made as unambiguous as possible that children have the right to receive a high quality education. Currently the bill before us includes the qualifier of “as far as practicable”. Quite rightly, a number of parents have raised concerns about that, that it will be their children who will be caught out under that “as far as practicable” clause.

This is a concern that is being raised specifically by parents of children with disabilities or with severe behavioural problems. They have raised a number of questions about why that qualifier is there. Does that mean that children who fit into that too-hard basket will just be moved aside because “as far as practicable” the work has been done?

I think we need to remove that qualifier and to have an education system that works for all students to have that high quality education to make their educational outcomes as best as they can be. The bill does deal with what happens when students are suspended and what happens when they are continually suspended both in government and non-government schools. This is where another concern has been raised. It comes specifically from parents of children with disabilities or severe behavioural problems. They continually see, as teachers get more and more frustrated, their students being just suspended, sent out of the classroom.

I have an amendment to make sure that students who have been suspended for seven days or more in one term actually receive counselling and support so that we can address

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