Page 1067 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 17 March 2010

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That Mr Rattenbury’s amendment be agreed to.

The Assembly voted—

Ayes 6		Noes 2
Mr Barr	Ms Le Couteur	Mr Coe
Ms Bresnan	Ms Porter	Mr Smyth
Mr Corbell	Mr Rattenbury

Question so resolved in the affirmative.

Amendment agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to.

Adjournment

Motion (by Mr Corbell) proposed:

That the Assembly do now adjourn.

Catholic Schools Week

MR COE (Ginninderra) (6:32): It is an honour to stand today to acknowledge the great education we have on offer in Canberra. In particular, I acknowledge the great work done by the Catholic sector. My comments today are particularly timely, given we are in the middle of Catholic Schools Week, which is running from 14 to 20 March this year.

Across the ACT and New South Wales, there are 615 schools that are taking part in a broad range of activities as part of this week-long celebration. In the ACT, approximately 40 per cent of our students are educated in non-government schools, with more than 25 per cent of them being educated in Catholic schools. This means a large proportion of Canberra’s population is being equipped for life’s challenges through an education provided in this sector.

One of the great misconceptions about private schooling is that only children of wealthy people attend private schools. This is wrong. While some students who attend private schools will come from wealthy families, the same can be said about some students in public schools. Regardless of a family’s income, the decision to send a child to a non-government school requires sacrifice. The level of that sacrifice will vary according to the particular school and the family’s circumstances.

The theme of this year’s Catholic Schools Week is “open your minds, open your hearts”, as published by the Catholic education office. This theme is very appropriate, considering the wonderful teaching and learning that takes place in Catholic schools, as well as the support each provides to its local community. CSW 2010 is also about strengthening relationships between all who have a stake in our schools—students, staff, families, priests, parishioners and members of the wider community.

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