Page 3127 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 24 August 2005
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I think that is very relevant because any government has to tread very warily in respect of school closures.
Mr Corbell: Did you close a school?
MR STEFANIAK: Yes; and they do so. Dr Foskey talked about the closure of Watson high by the federal Labor government, which caused a lot of angst. In the first Assembly there was a huge issue around school closures. I think that, up until now, governments have trod a lot more warily in relation to school closures, not putting the cart before the horse and ensuring that consultation occurs. Schools have closed before but I do not think I have ever seen a situation—certainly not since the first Assembly—where a community has been told, “Right; this is what is going to happen.” It sounds like a good idea—perhaps $45 million going into a nice, big new school. However, when the Chief Minister was talking, Mrs Dunne told me that you find the types of facilities he has mentioned in any modern primary school or high school; that they are the facilities you will find in our high schools throughout the ACT.
What about the effect on the community? This is why consultation should have occurred. If the government had come up with a bright idea and said, “This is what we are thinking about; what do you reckon?” they could have gone through a process of community consultation in relation to that. Just lumbering it on the community is putting the cart before the horse. It is the wrong way to do things and it has caused a lot of angst in the community.
Mrs Dunne is calling on the government to simply table its advice, which one would think is quite reasonable; to share that advice with the school community; to suspend all activity that would lead to the closure of Ginninderra district high school until the whole community has been consulted on the educational, financial, and social impacts of that closure; to give an opportunity for other alternatives to be considered to ensure that proper consultation is carried out before a decision is made to close any other school in west Belconnen.
That is reasonable; that is what has occurred over about the last 10 years in respect of the very difficult issue of school closures. A school is more than just bricks and mortar; a school is a community, a place where friendships are made. Especially if it is a school with a good school community, a school is a place where kids learn in a very pleasant environment. To my knowledge, from living in the area, that is exactly what Ginninderra district high has been providing to its students; so there is naturally a lot of angst about this.
I am a bit amazed, too, at the consultation process; it seems like a focus group. Whether or not they are paid $50 is perhaps a moot point but it may be relevant. It is certainly a focus group sworn to secrecy where, obviously, some people are involved and others are not. It seems certain that neither the P&C nor the school community knew anything about it. In mid-July the focus group had concluded and the minister had made up her mind, as had cabinet. The proposal was done as a fait accompli. That is not really a good way of consulting.
Someone mentioned Charnwood high school, which was difficult. For a number of reasons that school went down from about 700 in the days of, I think, Ray Gunn and
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