Page 436 - Week 01 - Thursday, 11 December 2008
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that we had. As far as subclauses (15) and (16) are concerned, we do believe, using Mr Hargreaves’s term, that the glass is half full. We are comfortable with the initiative to allocate moneys to parent groups and associations by way of a one-off grant of $15,000 per school to be spent on projects.
However, we are not totally comfortable with the urgency with which the matter has been dealt with. I might just mention the briefing that Mr Hanson, Mr Quade, who is from Ms Hunter’s office, and I attended on Monday. I think we all came away from that meeting with the impression that the urgency was not as great as had been portrayed to us here. Ms Hunter, you can talk to Mr Quade about the outcome of that discussion that we had regarding the urgency and what we had been led to believe. We do not believe the urgency was there. However, the allocation of the moneys to the parents and friends groups needs to go through at some stage. The people we were speaking to were under the impression that we are trying to delay for months and months. What we are trying to do is get some idea of what accountability exists when money is to be spent. On subclauses (15) and (16), as I said, I think we are reasonably comfortable.
However, regarding subclause (17), the allocation of $1.6 million, the briefing we were given indicated to us that originally this initiative provided funding for the consolidation of Department of Education and Training administrative and school support staff which would allow for a reduction in the number of sites held by DET. The information we received from the department was that funding included in the supplementary appropriation is to meet associated fit-out costs at 220 Northbourne Avenue, Lyneham. Approximately 60 staff will be relocated from Macarthur House to 220 Northbourne Avenue. The question here is that the 200 staff that will be located at Northbourne Avenue include 60 coming over from Macarthur House. Those 60 went to Macarthur House originally. It was only 12 months ago that that move was made. What was the cost involved in moving those people there 12 months ago? Now, 12 months later, we are spending another $1.6 million on moving these same staff into 220 Northbourne Avenue. That is the information we have been given, Mr Barr.
The other part of the information is that there is equipment to be purchased. Apparently, there are no computers, desks and so on located on the floors they are moving onto. The question we have is: what has happened to the equipment they were using in Macarthur House? This is what we are trying to get to the bottom of. Even with the best intentions in the world, trying to accept the line items that we were given before is not enough for us to make decisions for which we will certainly be held accountable. On that basis I would like to know a little bit more about how and why these situations occur when we keep talking about the global situation. On the information that we have it does not appear to us that it is prudent management to make these sorts of decisions.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Children and Young People, Minister for Planning and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation) (9.55): I am happy to enlighten the shadow minister in relation to these accommodation changes. The history of this goes back a number of years to some accommodation moves when the Department of Education and Training relocated from privately owned rented premises in Tuggeranong and to Northbourne Avenue. Unfortunately, the building at 220 Northbourne Avenue was tenanted at that time,
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