Page 3842 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 25 August 2010
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Following last week’s debate, it is important that the Assembly looks particularly at paragraph (3) of the amendment I will formally move shortly—that all parties in this Assembly work together in the interests of all students in all schools and not attempt, like Mr Doszpot has just done, to profit from the politics of division.
Mr Speaker, I formally move the amendment to Mr Doszpot’s motion:
Omit all words after “That this Assembly”, substitute:
“(1) notes:
(a) the old public-private debate is over; and
(b) all children in all schools should get the best education possible;
(2) reaffirms:
(a) its strong support for the Australian Government’s comprehensive review into education funding; and
(b) its strong support for a system that provides the most funding to the neediest schools, whether public, Catholic or independent; and
(3) calls on all parties in this Assembly to:
(a) support needs-based education funding in future; and
(b) work together in the interests of all students in all schools, not to attempt to profit from the politics of division.”.
MS HUNTER (Ginninderra—Parliamentary Convenor, ACT Greens) (10.54): I was going to thank Mr Doszpot for bringing this motion forward today, but after listening to the speech I find it a little hard to do that. Once Mr Doszpot read his speech, I thought that the motion seemed to be meant for last week, leading up to the federal election. It looks like Mr Doszpot missed the boat. Maybe that is because his federal Liberal colleagues had stopped that particular boat!
In the context of the federal election campaign, much has been said about how we should be educating our children and the way we allocate funds to that task. Just as we value, support and appreciate schools in the government sector, the ACT Greens value, support and appreciate the importance of the contribution the non-government school sector makes to education in the ACT.
The two sectors make up a school system which is recognised as amongst the best in Australia. The retention rate of students completing secondary schooling and the percentage of Canberra students gaining entrance to university are also the highest in Australia. The Department of Education and Training annual report 2008-09, on page 2, states:
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