Page 2778 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 17 September 2014
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facilities vandalised. These security fences have been very effective at doing that across the territory. In my electorate of Ginninderra they have been installed at Mount Rogers Primary School, Macgregor Primary School, Maribyrnong Primary School and Fraser Primary School.
The master plan and stage 1 works designs for Belconnen High School have been commenced. It is one of our older schools. In fact, as I recollect, the school hall was the tally room for the 1972 federal election which brought the Whitlam Labor government to power. It is one of those icons of history that we have here in Canberra. So that master plan and those stage 1 works will be upgrading one of our older high schools in Ginninderra.
At Macquarie Primary School there has been carpet and painting done—very important for providing an environment which is welcoming and friendly for children and their parents and, of course, the teachers. Across the territory water refill stations have been installed through the water refill station program and this has been done at 18 schools. Finally, I mention the upgraded early childhood facilities to comply with the national quality framework in Latham Preschool.
Madam Speaker, these upgrades and maintenance work on our schools in my electorate of Ginninderra have been part of this government’s work across the territory to make sure that our education facilities for our children are world best. And we know that the results coming out of our schools are equivalent or better than in other states and territories, with the NAPLAN results showing that the ACT is Australia’s leading jurisdiction. So I support Minister Burch’s amendment and commend it to the Assembly.
MR DOSZPOT (Molonglo) (10.45): Madam Speaker, I was forced to interject a number of times during Ms Burch’s—
MADAM SPEAKER: No, you were not, Mr Doszpot. You were never forced to interject; you chose to do it.
MR DOSZPOT: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Well, I chose to interject a number of times during Ms Burch’s response to my motion, as I do not think she listened to any of my comments and simply stuck to her prepared speech which is obviously based on misquoting me and refusing to accept the realities I presented about the state of ACT infrastructure, not the state of ACT education.
As I understand it, in 2012, during the ACT election campaign, ACT Labor issued an education policy which made commitments totalling an additional $250 million over four years. Included in those commitments was a significant amount of $70 million to refurbish older schools. To the ordinary person—to us mere mortals, not Labor officials but the ordinary voters—that commitment sounded like $70 million of extra money. But ACT Labor now says that figure should be read as capital upgrades; that is to say that it should be understood as standing for an already existing, ongoing, routine, recurrent program of maintenance of public schools. Now, if we accept Labor’s explanation that that $70 million worth of refurbishments of older schools really meant $70 million already budgeted and programmed as capital upgrades then we have to conclude that ACT Labor’s election commitments are $70 million less.
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