Page 2114 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 6 June 2018

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(a) $6.7 million for continued work on an early childhood strategy;

(b) $5.2 million to establish a future skills academy;

(d) $23.2 million for students with a disability and complex health needs;

(e) $7.3 million for 15 additional school psychologists;

(f) $600 000 to support parental engagement;

(g) $31 million to provide more resources for student growth;

(h) $47 million for a new government primary school in the Molonglo Valley, and planning for a 7-10 campus;

(i) $18 million to replace roofs at six government schools;

(j) $19.8 million to continue to support growth in enrolments across Gungahlin;

(k) $18.8 million to modernise Campbell Primary School; and

(l) $750 000 to undertake early planning and design for modernisation of Narrabundah College;”.

I want to outline our government’s continued commitment to the importance of education to growing our city’s future prosperity, to provide every child with access to quality learning opportunities. As members know, I previously worked as an advocate for education, with a focus on early childhood, where children’s education begins, advocating to ensure that governments across the country made the best possible return on their investment by providing access to affordable quality education for all children regardless of their background.

I am pleased to be part of an ACT Labor government that is growing access to quality education for all Canberrans. More than any other jurisdiction in Australia, ACT Labor and our government value the importance of delivering better quality education services in order to maintain our nation-leading education system.

Labor values the importance of investing in new public schools and new infrastructure for our existing schools, providing support for all students—secular support—and ensuring we have safe and inclusive schools for all. Our Labor government values our teachers by providing support, resources and development opportunities for those in our schools doing some of the most important work in our community: teaching our future generations. We value a focus on skills that are needed for the future, to prepare children for the jobs of the future and with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and the role of quality early childhood education in supporting future prosperity, to ensure that every child attending early childhood education and care receives a quality education. Labor also values our local school communities as well. Parents care about their child’s school, and building strong local school communities is a priority for our government.

This year’s budget is about growing services for our growing city. It is also about growing investment in education. Our city is growing by 7,000 people per year and

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