Page 2820 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 16 August 2017
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
The glaring omission in Ms Orr’s motion is the contribution made by the non-government education sector to the ACT. The fact that Canberra families are currently able to choose the educational setting that is right for their child regardless of their ability, age, religion or even socioeconomic status is a testament to the dedication of educators in all three systems of schooling.
There was an obvious silence from the ACT government earlier this year in the wake of the education funding decision made by the federal Liberal government. The proposed funding changes would have left 35 schools in the ACT receiving less funding in 2027 than they currently receive today and many more receiving only marginal increases of funding over the same period. The flow-on effect would have been catastrophic for the almost 40 per cent of students who attend non-government schools. And still the ACT Labor government did nothing. I am proud to have worked alongside Senator Seselja for a much fairer deal for the ACT that has been negotiated. A review of the SES funding model, in light of the unique situation that the ACT finds itself in, along with a package of an additional $57.9 million over the next four years, ensures a strong future for our non-government schools across the territory.
Against the backdrop of this scenario, it should also be noted that, according to the Productivity Commission, the ACT government in fact cut non-government school funding to the extent of 4.8 per cent between 2010 and 2015 while the commonwealth contribution rose 17.1 per cent. Just so that everyone is clear on that: the Labor government was cutting education funding, the commonwealth Liberal government increasing it.
Students, regardless of their ability, have the right to have choice in education options. This year’s census tells us that there are 3,208 students identifying as accessing special needs programs across all school sectors. Some of these students will also have behavioural difficulties that require specialist support to manage. Equally, there are an unknown number of students in the entire school system that do not have a diagnosis of disability but do display very complex needs and challenging behaviours that require additional supports. We only need to look at some of the sad situations that we have seen in this town, such as a cage being constructed for a young boy on the autism spectrum in a school which drew national and international condemnation, to see how a situation can escalate without adequate supports in place.
This ability to make a choice also extends to the rights of parents and carers, who choose what kinds of programs their children are exposed to in a classroom setting. However, this has not been the case with regard to the safe schools coalition program as it has been rolled out in schools across the territory. It has been well publicised that Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT, SHFPACT, has signed a contract with the ACT Education Directorate to rebrand, rename and rewrite a new curriculum for the ACT version of safe schools and that this program has been funded in this year’s budget.
It is important to remember that the commonwealth cut funding to the safe schools program across the country, and they did so for a reason. In 2016 there was an
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video