Page 2394 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 12 August 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
My colleagues here in the opposition and I are proud to stand by our position. On numerous occasions we have called on the government to maintain the early intervention services that are currently on offer, at least until 2016, and not withdraw service until such time as another service provider is able to step in and take up the slack. It is a smooth transition. It is a common-sense approach to say, “We will maintain services in this space until such time as the sector is ready to take it over, bit by bit”—not a whole-hog approach saying, “We are out; someone else will take care of this mess,” which seems to be the approach by this minister all too often.
We will continue to fight for the wishes of families out there that access these services. We will continue to raise their concerns here in this Assembly. And we will continue to hold this minister and this government to account until such time as their concerns are heard, taken notice of and addressed appropriately.
MS BURCH (Brindabella—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Disability, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Racing and Gaming, Minister for Women and Minister for the Arts) (9.09): I rise to talk about, and probably close debate on, education and training. I think it is recognised by many here that this is an important line in the budget and it is an important bit of business for government to ensure that our children are given the best quality education that we can offer.
This budget continues our proud tradition of investment in education, and, with record funding of $960 million, which is up 5.2 per cent on last year’s budget, we have increased recurrent funding for the public education sector by $17 million to $566 million, and we are continuing to support non-government schools through an allocation of $59 million. This continued funding commitment, as well as our deep commitment to quality and innovation, will ensure that we maintain our leadership in education and improve outcomes for all Canberrans. This budget delivers on that commitment and targets investment to provide the best possible education for every child.
In the area of early learning, our commitments are targeted on the infrastructure, educators and quality. Continuing with our childcare infrastructure program, we have allocated a further $1.4 million over two years to enable refurbishment and upgrade of childcare facilities. We are investing $500,000 over two years to extend the existing early childhood scholarship program, providing certificate III in children’s services to assist educators to meet the requirements for the national quality framework. I was pleased to announce last month scholarships for people aspiring to obtain a degree in early childhood education, and these 25 scholarships will deliver on one of our key commitments.
On early childhood education, much has been said by Ms Lawder on the need for early childhood education and care, and indeed I agree 100 per cent—it is an important aspect—and she says it is the responsibility of the government to do all it can. Ms Lawder has been in this place only a short time so she may have missed the investment in the 120-place centre that we built and have contracted out to provide service through the YWCA at Holder; the Franklin Early Childhood School, again a
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video