Page 4717 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
I am very interested to know exactly how the program is going, the level of resourcing provided and the feedback from the parents, teachers and the students themselves and what mechanisms we have to ensure that the schools and students are getting the assistance they need. As I said, I support the initiative and am very happy to see the money going to it. I will be very interested to see the outcomes that we manage to achieve through the program. Of course, this is something that can be explored during the annual reports hearings.
I would also like to briefly mention the particular needs of students with a disability and the importance of monitoring the ongoing implementation of the Shaddock review. As we know, we have more and more students with a disability coming into our education system. I note that an additional $20 million over forward years, as we know, went through the budget for children with disabilities. We need to be mindful that we have an increasing number of children, and I have received concerns from some parents about the way some of these services are delivered.
At 6 pm, in accordance with standing order 34, the debate was interrupted. The motion for the adjournment of the Assembly having been put and negatived, the debate was resumed.
MS HUNTER: These students are among the most in need in our system, and in any debate on the education system it is important that we turn our minds to their needs. Another part will be getting them ready to move into post-school options, and I am not convinced we have got that right. I am not convinced we have got that connection between the education department and the Community Services Directorate right. I think we need to direct far more attention to that area. There needs to be a smoother, more streamlined process that is far more supportive of the parents of those students and the students themselves.
Finally, the Greens will be supporting the Liberal amendment. I note that what is in Ms Porter’s motion is true—the Liberal Party has voted against every budget in this Assembly. I am not quite sure what the tactic is. It is a great shame that the Liberal Party chose not to support funding for the services. However, ultimately, those clauses do not really add to the substantive debate, and it is very important that we turn our minds to the important issues. I am happy to support the additional recognition of the specialist assistance program that Mr Doszpot has put into his amendment. Thank you to Ms Porter for bringing on this motion this afternoon. As I said, we will be supporting this motion with Mr Doszpot’s amendment.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Education and Training and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation) (6.02): I would like to thank Ms Porter for raising this important matter this afternoon and for being able to deliver a speech focused on the issues at hand. I would also like to acknowledge Ms Hunter for similarly being able to make a contribution in relation to the subject matter of the motion.
I congratulate ACT students for their exceptional overall performance in the 2011 NAPLAN testing program. I put again on the record the very proud history that the
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video