Page 1850 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 2 May 2012

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Commonwealth government funding is the lowest in the country to ACT Catholic schools and territory funding is amongst the lowest …

This is reality. Yet the thought police of the ACT Labor Party, or the left wing of the ACT Labor Party—I am not quite sure which part Dr Bourke belongs to—want to deny this. This is the reality that we are facing. The motion calls on the Assembly to “note” the above. It is not even something that we are calling on the government to do. They cannot even allow us to put forward what is a reality—a fact of life, Dr Bourke, despite your flowery discussions regarding this topic.

MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Through the chair, please, Mr Doszpot.

MR DOSZPOT: Then in the motion we have five points calling on the ACT government to do certain things, and four of those points are deemed unacceptable by Dr Bourke and the Labor Party. The only one they have agreed to is point (a):

acknowledge the significant contribution, in both financial investment and educational outcomes, that ACT schools make to the education of ACT children …

We put that forward and they have agreed with that point. But point (b) they refuse to contemplate:

apologise to ACT families for the unnecessary delays and additional costs that failure to progress the construction of John Paul College has caused …

That is also a fact of life. Things have happened due to a lack of will, if you like, on the part of this government. To be totally fair to Dr Bourke, perhaps it was not his doing. But his predecessor—maybe successor, I do not know—did not move heaven and earth, to coin a phrase, to ensure for the families in that area that the construction of John Paul college happened.

The government also want to delete point (c) of my motion:

explain the variation between ACT public school funding which is higher than any jurisdiction in Australia and funding to ACT Catholic and independent schools which is among the lowest of all States …

Again, this is a reality. It is a fact of life. We are simply asking for an explanation, but it is obviously impossible for this government and this minister to explain. But it does not stand the test of what this government will vote for.

Our final point (d) is again something that I think all schools would want to know about. We are calling on the ACT government to:

provide assurances that no ACT school will be disadvantaged if the recommendations of the Gonski Review are implemented.


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