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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 07 Hansard (Tuesday, 29 June 2004) . . Page.. 2992 ..

is dyscalculia. We need to look at how we are supporting those children and whether they are being identified early, so we can help to support them from the very early stages.

I am waiting, as I hope the rest of the Assembly is, with bated breath for the release of the school based management report. This report was meant to be delivered at least two months ago. It arose out of concerns I had in relation to school cleaning services. We had a WorkCover audit of those services and we now have a standard of agreement in relation to school cleaning standards. But the broader response to how school based management is going has not yet been put down by the government. We were not able to see any changes, if there were going to be any, in this budget so it will be at least another year—which is a year and a half in school terms—as we wait to see the future of school based management.

I point out that this relates to the Department of Education and Training. There were quite a few initiatives in relation to vocational education and training put forward in this budget, specifically for supporting young people at risk. I note that the government put forward funding for a range of new vocational training initiatives such as pathways.

It is good to see that commitment to vocational training in the ACT. It would be better, however, to see more of a commitment to the main provider of vocational education and training in the ACT—the Canberra Institute of Technology. They have continued to provide increased services, increased classes and increased support for students, without receiving any increased funding from the ACT government. For far too long they were obliged to work within efficiency measures forced upon them by the former government. It was pleasing to get the minister on the record saying that that program of meeting efficiencies, to have any flexibility in the budget, would not continue.

We need to see more support put into the Canberra Institute of Technology. I know a lot of work has been done in relation to moving the casual work force into full-time work, but there is a lot more that can be done at the CIT to support students and staff. I urge the government to pick up the CIT challenge and support that institution in a better way.

MRS CROSS (12.19): I note with great interest a substantial increase in money devoted to child protection in this year’s budget. It is a little disappointing that it took the discovery of such large systemic and departmental deficiencies, and a subsequent inquiry into these deficiencies, to see the funding in the area of child protection increased by any substantial amount.

The Vardon report came to the conclusion that the reason for the department’s failings and non-compliance with their statutory obligations—failings which have ensured that the deaths of 14 children between 2000 and 2003 have remained unexplained and failings that have resulted in up to 100 files being unlocated—is insufficient resources. The conclusion of the Vardon report, agreed upon by the government in their response, has been that staff shortages, high staff turnover, case overload and a general lack of resources were the reasons the department failed in its duties to children in the care of the ACT. It is a shame that it reached this level before the department received enough funding to be resourced adequately.

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