Page 3877 - Week 12 - Thursday, 30 October 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
MS BURCH: With regard to the chaplaincy program, the correspondence on the position of the commonwealth was very clear, that they would only support chaplains, despite the pleas from this government, the independent schools and the Catholic schools for that program to be able to support secular workers. One of the conditions of that agreement is that there is a panel from public schools, independent schools and Catholic schools. That panel will make the decision on where the chaplains go.
Until we form that panel, until we put the invite out to the schools, until we get a sense of which schools will put their hand up to be part of the program, we are unclear about where they go. It is certainly my position that I would have liked to have gone to the end of this year not having any of those jobs at risk but that was not to be, given the arrangements given to us by the commonwealth.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mrs Jones.
MRS JONES: Minister, given that, can a school that does not at present have a chaplain apply to engage one before 2018?
MS BURCH: One of the conditions of this arrangement is that an invite is put out to all schools, whether they have a chaplain or a secular worker now or not.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Doszpot.
MR DOSZPOT: Minister, how many secular workers are you prepared to fund through this program?
MS BURCH: The commonwealth’s funding agreement absolutely excludes secular workers.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Doszpot.
MR DOSZPOT: Compared to other states, why is the ACT government taking a different approach to co-funding?
MS BURCH: I do not believe that we are. The condition of the commonwealth funding of the chaplaincy program is that there are only chaplains to be employed.
Infrastructure—public-private partnerships
MS BERRY: My question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, could you please explain why the ACT government has chosen public-private partnerships to deliver major infrastructure projects in the ACT?
MR BARR: I thank Ms Berry for the question. From the outset, it is important to acknowledge that all governments partner with the private sector to deliver infrastructure projects for the community. Public-private partnerships, PPPs, are but one type of delivery model, which is particularly suitable for complex infrastructure projects. Unlike the more traditional delivery models that we are used to in the ACT,
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video