Page 4820 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 11 November 2009
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MR BARR: Yesterday at the principals forum the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, released the initial snapshot of what the My School website will look like and the level of data and information that will be available. That site is online now and if members are interested I think they will find it at myschool.edu.au. There are some mocked-up pages showing what information will be available for 10,000 Australian schools from January 2010.
The issues that have been raised by principals both here in the ACT and indeed on a national level have been considered at great length by the ministerial council. Ministers have over the course of, I think, four ministerial council meetings progressively worked through this transparency agenda. They have commissioned a significant amount of research from the Australian Council for Educational Research, amongst others, around what would be the best forms of data to make available to parents.
There are a number of things that have become very clear through that process: that there is not support for simplistic league tables—and I am sure people will be assured, having looked at the My School website, that it is not possible to create a simplistic league table for the information that is available on that site; that the comparison of statistically similar schools is a nationwide comparison; and that the local schools comparison does not compare results directly. So from that website parents and interested parties will be able to get a sense—(Time expired.)
Cotter Dam—cost
MRS DUNNE: My question is to the Deputy Chief Minister. I refer you to Deloitte’s comments in its independent review of the design and estimate process for the enlarged Cotter Dam.
Mr Stanhope: You are not responsible for water. Why are you asking this? Haven’t you got faith in the shadow—in your leader?
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Stanhope!
Mr Stanhope: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: this is a relevant issue, isn’t it? The shadow attorney-general doesn’t have responsibility for water. Why is she asking questions on this?
MRS DUNNE: Actually, I do.
MR SPEAKER: There is no point of order, Mr Stanhope.
Mr Stanhope: Why doesn’t she actually leave it to her leader who has responsibility? Doesn’t she have any faith—does she not have any faith in him or does she know nothing about the Attorney-General portfolio?
MR SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Mr Stanhope, do not push your luck. Mr Stanhope, sit down.
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