Page 2294 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
In addition, the requirement under section 20A(2) to establish, in consultation with the appropriate standing committee nominated by the Speaker or the standing committee responsible for education matters, a committee of three to undertake community consultation will assist in giving proper consideration of school community views.
I remind the Assembly that poor decision making in relation to school closures or amalgamation impacts on the broader community. Many times in this place since 2006 we have referred to the impact of the school closures on neighborhoods and many times we have discussed with the members of those communities the problems they have faced since these schools closed and how we can work with them to find a way forward and find solutions.
Schools provide a vital role in the social interaction and engagement in their surrounding communities. There is a flow-on effect, with businesses needing this activity to survive and provide services for the community. Indeed, in the school closures inquiry report it was noted in sections 2.12, 2.13 and in the key findings that prior to the 2006-07 budget, the need for structural reform, including the consolidation of schools, was not identified as a priority for the government. The extent of the reforms then proposed in the budget caught the community off guard.
Mr Doszpot interjecting—
MS HUNTER: The amendments can be summarised as follows. Mr Doszpot, you may be interested in this. They ensure that all those responsible for the management of the school and the parents and citizens council are notified of the proposal to close or amalgamate the school at the outset of the process.
It requires that the minister must appoint an independent panel to write a report and undertake consultation on behalf of the minister in the development of that report. It sets out the criteria on exactly what must be considered in consultation. This is a comprehensive list that ensures all relevant factors are considered.
This bill, together with these amendments, are all about improving the management of education in the ACT and learning from our experiences of 2006. They are not about making it harder to close schools necessarily, because there may be occasions in the next 20, 30 or 40 years where this issue may arise again in the Canberra community. But it is certainly about improving the process should a school closure or amalgamation be considered.
I emphasise that what these changes do is ensure that all the evidence will be available and that the community will have been consulted on the veracity of that evidence. If, all that considered, it would be better to close the school, that will still happen. The point is that now the legislation ensures all the facts, along with the community’s views, will have been considered in a proper way, in a transparent way, in a way that is accountable.
Clearly, in this place it is our responsibility to continually learn from and improve policies, processes, regulations or, in this case, legislation, thereby ensuring that we
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video