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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 10 Hansard (Tuesday, 24 August 2004) . . Page.. 4039 ..

That is a commitment by this government to ensure that our school system in the ACT is the best it can be. This government prioritised education and delivered on its promises. It has more to do, but we now have an education system that is achieving the best results in the country. No doubt that is as a result of some of the major achievements that this government put in place and worked for over the past 2½ years.

MS MacDONALD: I thank the minister for her extensive answer and ask a supplementary question. Could the minister inform the Assembly how education issues affecting indigenous students, students with disabilities and students at risk have been addressed through this government’s initiatives?

Mr Smyth: Point of order. There is a question on the notice paper concerning the education of indigenous students. Mr Speaker, will you rule this supplementary question out of order?

MR SPEAKER: Would Ms MacDonald repeat her supplementary question?

MS MacDONALD: Certainly, Mr Speaker. My question was: Could the minister inform the Assembly how education issues affecting indigenous students, students with disabilities and students at risk have been addressed through this government’s initiatives?

MR SPEAKER: I think the supplementary question is different. I call the minister.

MS GALLAGHER: Initiatives addressing children and students who need support most are central to any successful education system. Indigenous students are not achieving the results that are being achieved by their non-indigenous peers in schools, which is a matter of major concern. It is not a matter of concern only in the ACT; it is also a matter of concern around the country. We have seen enormous improvements in the results for indigenous students in the ACT, in particular when they are measured against national benchmarks and the ACTTAP testing. This government implemented the Services to Indigenous People Action Plan 2002-04 and it increased indigenous early childhood support by $868,000 over four years in order to focus on those early years.

When indigenous children attend Koori preschools or they have access to early childhood experiences they tend to do much better on their entry into school. So it is important to target those students and young children prior to their entry into school. In relation to students already in the primary and secondary school system, the government increased the numbers of home-school liaison officers from two to 11 in term four of 2003. Those home-school liaison officers are working hard to form partnerships between families and schools to ensure that students have support in both their home and school life.

In relation to indigenous student support, in the last budget the government allocated $1.6 million over four years to support learning and retention for indigenous students in government schools, with a particular focus on improving literacy and numeracy. Part of that initiative was to address and support students in year 3 who might not have been achieving benchmarks, so by the time they are tested in year 5 they would have had that extra support. It was also to provide opportunities for mentoring for older students in

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