Page 750 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 1 April 2008
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Schools—Lyons primary
MRS BURKE: Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Hargreaves: Give us a Lyons question.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Hargreaves!
MRS BURKE: My question is to the education minister and it relates to Lyons primary school. Minister, this morning on MIX 106.3 a parent of students at Lyons primary expressed her outrage at the possibility of the student body being moved halfway through the year and six months earlier than you had indicated. The parent, Jo, is a single mum, unable to drive. Minister, what do you have to say to her in light of your decision to yet again leave the community behind in your quest to close schools?
MR BARR: I can reassure that parent that there will be no early move from Lyons primary school. The classes will continue as normal for the rest of the school year. Work that is programmed for the school will be undertaken—as I have said about seven times in question time today, but I will repeat it one more time as Mrs Burke is a special case—during school holidays and outside school hours. Classes can continue at Lyons on the second floor as they currently do at the moment.
If all of this attention is not enough, just to assure Mrs Burke, if she would like to pass on the details of that constituent—I will even contact the radio station—if I need to speak personally to that constituent to reassure her, I am happy to speak personally to that constituent to assure her that the programs will continue at Lyons for the rest of the year.
Mr Stanhope: And that the alarm that the Liberal Party has caused was quite unnecessary.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Chief Minister! A supplementary question from Mrs Burke?
MRS BURKE: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Minister, what effort have you made to understand the impacts on parents such as Jo and what help will you provide after disrupting the family?
MR BARR: I thank Mrs Burke for the opportunity to respond on that question.
Members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Barr! Members of the government and opposition benches should discontinue the conversation. Mr Barr has a question to answer.
MR BARR: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I think it would be fair to say that during what was a difficult year in 2006 no-one in this place attended more meetings or met with more parents to discuss the impact that the government school renewal program
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