Page 4100 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 13 December 2006
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will cause? Far from redressing the one per cent drift each year to the private school system, quite clearly this will accelerate it. We are seeing here an ignorance of history and some incredibly stupid decisions in relation to some of these schools.
It might have been Dr Foskey who mentioned the small schools of Tharwa and Hall. Tharwa first started educating children in this area in 1899. Hall has been going continuously since 1911, before Canberra was even founded. Those schools are the heart of their respective communities. Indeed, Hall school is not a particularly small school at any rate. Those communities, I think, will be devastated. Your savings there are absolutely minuscule.
Cook primary school will be closed, although it was reprieved back in 1999. It has 91 per cent capacity. The rest of the building is being used very effectively by other groups. It is a very vibrant school community. I commend the Cook primary school community on their demonstration and the points they have been making outside over the last few days.
There will be some very disappointed people—and for what? For a scheme that was very hastily cobbled together, that had a rationale put to it after the decision was made. There is now some backdown, but the government is going ahead with some of that original decision. I think this is a sad day for education in the ACT.
I dread the dislocation we are going to see in 2007 for the students of those schools that will close at the end of 2006. Yes, quite obviously, from what I have heard going around the communities, there is going to be a lot of dislocation. There are in fact going to be a number of additional expenses such as demountables having to be put up. You will scratch your head and wonder why some of these schools closed in the first place.
Dr Foskey says it is not too late for the government to reconsider. I suppose it is not. It is an arrogant government that probably will not reconsider, but I would ask it to reconsider. We have made our position quite clear. Yes, in the past we closed some schools, but we did so with proper community consultation, not after a ridiculous process like this.
Mr Barr interjecting—
MR STEFANIAK: We have put forward criteria, which you have rejected, on how to properly consult the community and how to take the community along with you.
Mr Barr: That one cuts you down every time: Charnwood high on one month’s notice.
MR STEFANIAK: By the way, Mr Barr, in a way you have saved Mount Rogers. That was indeed the result of an amalgamation of two school sites by us after extensive community consultation and before that decision was made.
Mr Barr: Tell me about Charnwood high and the one month’s notice halfway through a school year.
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