Page 5312 - Week 12 - Thursday, 28 October 2010
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offices. Yet again, these measures were voted against by the Liberals. In 2008-09 we invested $1.34 million to support people with a disability by providing lifts at Alfred Deakin, Lyneham high and Black Mountain school.
In 2009-10 we invested $1.37 million to support students with disabilities by providing new lifts at Belconnen high school and improved disabled access at Hawker college. Again, the Liberals voted against these measures. Unfortunately, the local Liberals, aping their federal colleagues, also do not support federal Labor’s building the education revolution program. We, Mr Speaker, on the other hand do and have been pleased to work with the federal government to deliver improvements to every ACT school, benefiting every ACT student.
Under the BER program, students and teachers at the Black Mountain school have seen their school hall doubled in size. It features a new stage and air conditioning. The project, worth more than $1 million, received $850,000 from the BER program plus nearly $200,000 from the ACT government. Again, it is funding that was voted against by the ACT Liberals.
Cranleigh school received refurbished classrooms, wet areas and a storage area under their BER project. Additionally, the library has been refurbished with $210,000 from the ACT government. This is funding that, again, the ACT Liberals did not support. Students and teachers at Malkara school are being assisted with the extension and redesign of three classrooms in the early childhood wing and a range of other refurbishments.
This combined investment by federal and ACT Labor governments, which will cost close to $1 million, has been opposed by the ACT Liberals. At the Woden school students and their teachers are benefiting from the construction of three new classrooms plus a storage area worth more than $1 million under the BER—an investment opposed by the ACT Liberals. A very simple thing that we can do to support teachers who assist students with disabilities is to provide a budget to pay them.
The government does this annually through the budget which the Liberals have voted against for the past three years. In 2009, and again in 2010, the government, in cooperation with the independent and Catholic sectors, has implemented the positive partnership program to support staff and families of students on the autism spectrum. So good is this program that in 2009, 23 schools participated. This year it has grown to 39 schools. This is an in-depth and highly successful program that supports teachers and families working together to provide appropriate strategies for autistic students. The Liberals voted against these staff getting paid.
The inclusion support team comprises 14 teachers with specific experience and knowledge in teaching students with a disability. It provides support to teachers whose classes include students with a disability. This team provides individually tailored professional learning for teachers. The Liberals voted against these staff getting paid.
Our vision support teachers support teachers who have students with vision impairment. This requires specialised professional learning and dedication to enable
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