Page 2513 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 23 August 2006
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Obviously, the imminent closure of these schools is the most pressing issue. The community is concerned and does not understand because the government has not properly told them why the schools are closing. That comes out of each of the meetings I have attended. People are screaming for more information. They are not happy being told to go to the web site. They do not feel adequate data is there and they have questioned the accuracy of the data.
With that level of concern being expressed by the electorate, I would have thought we would hold the horses a bit and revisit the timetable. Clearly we have an awful problem in communication. Given the way we have handled this, we need to retreat from our first position. There is confusion and concern about the future of special programs within these schools. For example, I have received representations from a constituent about the future of the program that is operated for autistic children at Rivett Primary School. When people affected in this regard take the view that they need to take it up with their elected representatives, you know they are deeply concerned.
In addition to the problems associated with the imminent closure of schools and the uncertainty that this creates, other elements of the government’s plan must be scrutinised, and require longer consultation. Not the least of these is the proposed merger of Lyons primary school and Curtin primary school, and the future of programs run in those schools like the bilingual Italian immersion program at Lyons and the learning support program, or the gifted and talented program, at Curtin primary school. I am not sure whether the minister had the opportunity to go to the Lyons open day recently, but a number of members did. Mrs Burke, Mrs Dunne and Mr Seselja were there, and one would understand the tremendous support that parents are giving towards that school and its programs. I understand the minister made commitments to protect the bilingual programs, but there is a high level of apprehension about the full impact of these reforms on those schools. That level of angst needs to be addressed in a conclusive and satisfactory fashion.
There is a feeling in the community that the consultation process has been rushed. The government had failed to properly justify to the community why schools in general, and especially the 39 schools targeted for closure, need to be closed. It would have overcome much of its problems if the infamous Costello report were made public. We would then see the rationale, the validity or otherwise, of the data to see what lead to this dramatic policy direction. I know the government is under pressure. It criticised me for talking to the credit rating agency, Standard & Poors. I also met with Moody’s, who had the spotlight on the territory government. Panic was setting in that if the credit rating of the territory was downgraded we would be in awful strife. I understand Mr Costello would have advised the Chief Minister to make radical, unpopular decisions or be permanently damaged in being the only Australian jurisdiction to have a downgraded credit rating. One then asks why did we get into this predicament so far into the term of this government? The answer is obvious. It is because of the government’s decisions.
Many sweeping changes are proposed in this territory in a horrible budget but the people of Canberra, who are a well-educated community, are entitled to hear the rationale for many of the decisions. Clearly the education one in the short term is the most serious concern on the minds of many of our electors, and in the longer term the issue of rates and taxes, as it is starting to bite now and starting to hurt the average household, will come under even closer scrutiny.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .