Page 3835 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 25 August 2010
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(f) that the ACT government’s 17.2 per cent per capita contribution to non-government students is below the national average; and
(g) the autonomy of principals to hire staff is vital to maintain the vitality of their school’s culture;
(2) reaffirms its strong support for:
(a) the non-government school sector;
(b) funding for non-government schools to, at the very least, be maintained in real terms; and
(c) non-government school principals to retain their autonomy to manage their schools in accordance with their values; and
(3) calls on:
(a) the Commonwealth and ACT governments to ensure that funding for the sector does not fall in real terms; and
(b) the ACT government to explore options on how to enhance funding to non-government schools and report back to the Assembly by the last sitting day in 2010.
Last week’s motion introduced by Mr Seselja, the Leader of the Opposition, regarding the Greens’ policies and their impact on living costs to families resulted in what can be regarded as one of the most intense sittings in this Assembly. This motion was debated from morning until evening. Importantly, Mr Seselja’s motion allowed us all to do a bit of soul searching. In the end, the result showed that for the most part common sense prevailed.
With that in mind, I would like to commend Mr Seselja for the motion. The election has now passed and the rhetoric of policy has shifted to the pending election results and who will form government. Here in the Assembly, this is not a time for us to hold our breath and wait. There is much to do.
Last week it was noted, among other things, that the Greens’ education policy would rip approximately $60 million from ACT private schools by diminishing commonwealth government funding to 2003-04 levels, reducing the level of government funding to non-government schools by taking into account moneys raised locally by school fees, fetes and philanthropic support, and decoupling them from public school spending. The policy would also take away freedom of religion by forcing faith-based schools to employ people who do not share their values and stop the development of new non-government schools if they endanger the viability and diversity of existing public schools.
It was also put that approximately 40 per cent of students in the ACT attend non-government schools. Government funding levels to non-government schools in
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