Page 529 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 23 February 2010
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Deputy Speaker, the students participating in community enterprises, SPICE, program, is another that is available that provides a structured work placement for students at risk of dropping out before year 10. As I mentioned, the Connect 10 programs at Lake Tuggeranong, Dickson and Lake Ginninderra, as well as at the CIT, provide a range of flexible learning options. So there is considerable support provided across a range of programs.
This year we have added in the suspension support team and, if that particular pilot proves to be successful, it is the government’s intention to expand that program across all schools in the territory. We will, of course, share learning with other schools and with the Catholic and independent sectors as well. There is very strong support, I believe, across all three education sectors for schools to work together in this area.
The scrutiny of bills committee made a very valuable contribution to clarifying the bill’s intent. The committee has, in this instance and previously, highlighted the tension between the right of the child and the right to an education. It is worth noting that decisions regarding suspension will be taken on a case by case basis, assessing the relevant factors comprising the circumstances for each child. With this in mind, there is a whole range of safeguards for consideration by principals, such as procedural fairness and natural justice, as outlined in the department’s policy on suspensions.
The scrutiny of bills committee asked the question, “Has significant recognition been given ‘to the right of a child to the protection needed by the child because of being a child’?” and went on to say that it is arguable that the right to education is a component of the Human Rights Act right.
The government’s response to that is that a child can only be suspended from an ACT government school if that student is engaging in behaviour outlined under section 36(1)(a) of the act. The need for a suspension in these circumstances is reflective of the need to balance the human rights of the suspended student with the rights of those that are negatively affected by that student’s conduct. At this point it is worth reflecting that we have heard extensively in this debate—and rightly so—about the human rights of and implications on students who are suspended. But what I hear a lot about as education minister is the impact of poor behaviour on other students, on teachers and on staff in schools, and that has to be put before the Assembly as well.
There has been, in the course of education history in this territory and in schools all over the country, a range of horrific incidents that have had dramatic impacts on other students, on teachers and on staff in schools. When we consider these issues, we have to balance what can be significant harm to others as the result of poor behaviour. And at some point we have to send some pretty firm signals about what is appropriate and what is not in terms of behaviour in schools. This is one, as the Leader of the Opposition said, of many mechanisms to send that signal.
But what I do not want to see lost in this debate is the other side of this equation: the rights of the vast majority, the overwhelming majority, of students that go to school to access a quality education and to do so in a safe environment. There have got to be some advocates for that in this place as well, and that is why the Labor Party went to the 2008 election with this commitment. It certainly was not dreamed up overnight. It
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