Page 2209 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 4 June 2013
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to deal with the adult population that we are currently seeing. Yes, we need to shift the focus to children and that generation and we need to get it across the board.
I do not know how much attention Mr Hanson has paid to SmartStart for Kids, until it gets on the front page of the Canberra Times and then he shows a lot of interest. I have spent a lot of time looking at this program and a lot of time taking advice from the Chief Health Officer of the ACT, the man responsible for advising me on public health matters. His advice at this stage is that this program should not get additional funding from the ACT government. It started as a private company 13 or 14 years ago. It has run its program, it has received a pretty generous amount of government funding—$800,000 over four years—and that contract expires.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Mr Doszpot.
MR DOSZPOT: Chief Minister, why is it that you can find $300,000 for Skywhale but you cannot find $250,000 for a childhood obesity program?
Members interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! The Chief Minister has the call.
MS GALLAGHER: Thank you. We have supported Mr de Castella’s program. I think that until it received government funding it was a private business. It then changed to a non-government agency in order to assist us in providing funding to it of $800,000. Mr de Castella was not after $200,000; the submission to government was for $1 million a year.
Education—funding
DR BOURKE: My question is to the Chief Minister. Chief Minister, last week you reached agreement with the Prime Minister for the ACT to participate in the national education reform agenda. Can you advise the Assembly of details of the funding arrangements, the length of the agreement and what benefits will flow to ACT schools and their students from this historic agreement?
MS GALLAGHER: I thank Dr Bourke for the question. Last week the ACT government was in a great position to reach agreement—
Mr Smyth: On a point of order, Madam Speaker, is this revealing detail that is in the budget and therefore under embargo?
MADAM SPEAKER: I think it has already been publicly announced. It could be called a budget leak, but I think it was publicly announced. There was a press conference about it. Chief Minister.
MS GALLAGHER: Last week we did reach agreement with the commonwealth government around the national education reform agreement and the national plan for school improvement. I think it is right to call the agreement reached historic. For the first time in the ACT all students, regardless of the school that they attend, will
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