Page 1209 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 6 April 2016
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I guess the major point that Mr Rattenbury alluded to was that he will be accepting two out of three of our issues that we call on the government to look at, and I thank him for that. We accept his amendment in full, and I am happy to move on from that, as long as we can stick to those time frames—through you, Madam Deputy Speaker, to Mr Rattenbury—and that those time frames will be kept.
In closing, the note I finish on, the work that is being done to consult the non-government sector about planning for new schools is one of the issues that I do not recall Mr Rattenbury referring to. Some of the areas that are of concern have got huge issues now, and obviously there are not any government schools being planned in some of those areas. That is the other area I would like the minister to take up. Those issues that we raised are not scaremongering, they are issues that are very relevant now to the teaching community, to the principals in those schools that are most affected, the teachers and, naturally enough, the parents who are worried about what is going to happen to their children.
I need to find out just what has happened in the past 17 months. The former education minister 17 months ago claimed that, in each of our four network schools, capacity will remain comfortably above projected enrolment growth. I think it is not unfair for me to ask the current minister what has happened in those 17 months to have this situation occur.
The fact is that there is $70 million that has been talked about quite frequently in the course of the past four years of this Assembly that was earmarked for schools for infrastructure, and we could not get any answers out of the previous education minister on this. I would certainly like Minister Rattenbury to take that on board and see if he can get some answers as to where that money has gone. And if it has not gone to light rail, I would like to know where it has gone.
Who is right and who is wrong in all of this is not what we are after. We simply want solutions. In September 2014 these issues did not exist and, only 17 months later, we are now facing what I call a potential capacity crisis. That is not scaremongering. That is simply painting the picture as we see it from the census and the information that is available to all of us if we are willing to listen to the people who are most affected by this. Parents need answers, and so do we in the Assembly.
I welcome the amendment put forward by Mr Rattenbury, and I look forward to getting the answers on a timely basis.
Amendment agreed to.
Motion, as amended, agreed to.
Penalty rates
MR HINDER (Ginninderra) (4.19): I move:
That this Assembly:
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