Page 531 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 23 February 2010
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I note the comments made this morning on ABC radio by Michael Battenally from the Principals Association. I think he presented a very balanced and fair position in relation to this legislation. I have met and discussed this matter extensively with the Principals Association over a number of years. This move today signals the first of what will be a number of steps in a whole range of areas of school administration within the ACT where the government intends to hand much greater autonomy to principals.
We will be moving away from a highly centralised system of school management. We have taken some steps in this jurisdiction previously in relation to school-based management, the review of which I will release in the near future. We will have some responses in this year’s budget. But I am signalling today that this is the beginning of a process to give schools, and principals in particular, a considerable amount of additional autonomy to run their educational institutions. That is the direction of government policy at a national level and it will be reflected here in the ACT as well.
In closing, I thank members for their contribution. I thank the Liberal opposition for their support and indicate that the government will support Mr Doszpot’s amendment when he moves it in the detail stage.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
Detail stage
Bill, by leave, taken as a whole.
MR DOSZPOT (Brindabella) (5.06), by leave: I move amendments Nos 1 and 2 circulated in my name together [see schedule 2 at page 546].
As I have mentioned, these amendments are the result of a compromise between the government and the opposition and seek to change the number of days set out in the bill from 10 to 15. This is slightly less than the opposition had proposed. However, in the interests of all concerned, we are happy to move forward with this increase in place.
Again, I say here that we all—I think I can speak for my Green and Labor colleagues—agree that suspension is certainly not the only answer to antisocial behaviour in ACT schools, but it goes some of the way to empowering principals and it is a starting point from which to progress. I welcome the bipartisan support and the cooperation of the government that was needed in order to make this bill a reality. I commend my amendments to the Assembly.
MS HUNTER (Ginninderra—Parliamentary Convenor, ACT Greens) (5.08): As I indicated earlier in my speech, we will not be supporting these amendments. I do want to go to the issues that Mr Barr just raised about the other supports in schools, which are quite true. Probably in the last seven to eight years particularly there has been quite an increase in the focus on student services and pastoral care and seeing a
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