Page 1037 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 19 March 2013
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MS BURCH: I do thank Dr Bourke for his question and for his interest too in Catholic Education Week. I was delighted to be invited to attend a number of activities to celebrate Catholic Schools Week. For the benefit of the Assembly, Catholic Schools Week is about the celebration of the strength and distinctiveness of Catholic education in the ACT and across Australia.
I received a number of invitations from many schools during the week. Unfortunately, though, there were only a few that I was able to attend. But I want to congratulate each and every school and school community on their celebrating their special week. From all accounts, it was a very successful week and I wish them well in the 2013 year.
I was fortunate to be able to attend a community breakfast at St Michael’s Primary School. This was organised by the school and hosted by the principal, Judy Walsh. I want to thank Mrs Walsh, her staff and the community for inviting me. I do note that there were a number of members from this Assembly there. I made the point that my primary school was a St Michael’s school, but it was not the St Michael’s where we had breakfast the other day.
I did enjoy sharing the primary school link that morning. We were celebrating Catholic schools and the Centenary of Canberra. I had also attended the centenary mass, which celebrated the contribution of Catholic education to Canberra over the life of this city. This event was organised and hosted by the Catholic Education Office. It was a very well attended event. One of the parts of that service that I enjoyed was the welcoming of the new teachers into the Catholic school system. Those that were there would remember the teachers coming to the front of the congregation and being welcomed into the system. It was really quite pleasant.
In relation to the second part of the member’s question around the support provided to Catholic schools in the ACT, I can inform the member and the Assembly that over the term of this Labor government funding to our Catholic and independent schools has increased from $30 million in 2001 to over $55 million in 2012. This is an increase of over 80 per cent from the historic lows of the previous government.
Opposition members interjecting—
MS BURCH: They are saying it is not so, but that was the historic low of the previous government. This government does make funding decisions based on needs, a per capita assessment. The government has responded to this assessment by providing greater levels of funding to Catholic schools through our needs-based model and through targeted funding of our systemic Catholic schools. Funding has been provided where it is needed most, an approach reinforced by the outcomes of the recent commonwealth review of school funding.
I wish our Catholic schools and our Catholic Education Office, their staff, students, parents and community members all the best for the 2013 school year and for many more years to come. They are a highly valued contributor to education in the ACT and I look forward to working with them through the term of this government.
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