Page 3091 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 22 August 2017
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This is a very significant contribution that the ACT government is making towards education in the ACT. I am very happy that the work of the ACT government, working with the Australian Education Union, is digging deeper and talking with our school communities. This budget will fund the best things that a government can do and a community can do to support the needs of young people across our schools.
In addition to the funding that I have already talked about for different initiatives, there is also the safe schools initiative that the government will be implementing in our schools. Now, more than ever, young people, LGBTIQ people particularly, in our schools need our community’s support and our government’s support. The ACT government is committing to make sure that those kids get the support they need, when they need it, for as long as they need it, through an inclusive program like safe schools so that they can be well supported in the best way possible.
Finally, I make mention again of the significant infrastructure contribution of $85 million that the ACT government is making to ACT schools. That is significant. It will make a difference to the infrastructure. But more than that, we need to go beyond the advice of academics, other experts and test results and really talk to the students and young people, the parents and families, the teachers, the support staff and the principals in our schools so that we can work towards a strategy for the future of education for children who will be attending our schools shortly or children not even been born yet to make sure that they have the best learning outcomes that we can possibly deliver here in the ACT.
More than that, we have to build really strong school communities through these important conversations that we are having across our school systems—Catholic, independent and public schools—to make sure that we provide the best schools that we possibly can.
Debate interrupted in accordance with standing order 74 and the resumption of the debate made an order of the day for a later hour.
Sitting suspended from 12.34 to 2.30 pm.
Ministerial arrangements
MR BARR: Madam Speaker, the Deputy Chief Minister will be absent from question time today. I will take questions in the Deputy Chief Minister’s portfolios.
Questions without notice
Animals—dog attack compensation
MR COE: I have a question for the Treasurer. The criteria for the Treasurer to authorise an act of grace payment state that the government will assess payments on the basis of three points. The third point is: “The matter is not covered by legislation … but it is intended to introduce such legislation.” In a speech in this place on 2 August, Ms Fitzharris said:
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