Page 1401 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 28 March 2012
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(a) that on 3 August 2011, Minister Barr released a report by Professor Bradley AC on options for the future of the University of Canberra and the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT);
(b) that on 7 December 2011, the federal government announced a grant of $25.9 million had been awarded to the University of Canberra;
(c) that on 16 December 2011, Minister Bourke announced the creation of a collaborative venture between the University of Canberra and the CIT, and that this decision was based on public consultations, stakeholders’ views including CIT and unions, and the views of a Government Steering Group; and
(d) that a media release from the University of Canberra dated 16 December 2011 states that the University of Canberra Institute of Technology is an entirely new third institution, and would begin operations in 2013, and will have its headquarters in Bruce; and
(2) calls on the ACT government to:
(a) make public and provide to the Standing Committee on Education, Training and Youth Affairs all relevant material used in the formulation of a collaborative venture between the University of Canberra and the CIT by 1 May 2012; and
(b) provide the membership details of, and the terms of reference for, the Project Implementation Group to the Standing Committee on Education, Training and Youth Affairs by 1 May 2012; and
(c) make public the details of the proposed model, including the anticipated governance structures and the student enrolment processes of the collaborative venture between the University of Canberra and the CIT by 1 May 2012.
The motion I present today is about clarity, transparency and open government. It is also about the teachers, staff and students of two of our finest local education providers—the University of Canberra and the Canberra Institute of Technology. It is with some frustration that I rise today to call on the ACT government to provide the people of the ACT with somewhat more information than is currently being provided on a decision taken by cabinet in December last year to set up another educational institution in a collaborative venture with the CIT and the University of Canberra, a plan that will potentially affect hundreds of jobs, not to mention the study plans of possibly thousands of local, national and international students.
The government and Minister Bourke’s office have had ample opportunity to respond to the inquiries and concerns I have raised. To the minister’s credit, his staff arranged for a briefing to be held earlier in the year, for which I am grateful. However, it was very disappointing to be presented with little more than a previously circulated media release. There was simply very little information made available to me that I had not already seen or read in the local media, and it left me with more questions than answers.
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