Page 3780 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 19 September 2018
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leave Canberra, but also that many of them will return, as has been the case in the past. But I do hope that the work the School of Music is doing to develop itself as a high quality conservatorium also enables continued support of our high performing school-age students.
I turn to my two calls, because they are the heart of my amendment. The first, 2(a), echoes Ms Lee’s calls for completeness. To my knowledge, no-one has suggested that the other H courses are under threat. My call 2(b) is the heart of my amendment. It says:
(b) continue to support ANU’s School of Music’s provision of outreach to the students of Canberra, including high performing music students, with comparable funding to previous years.”.
Unpacking this, there are two points in it. It calls on the government to maintain funding for the ANU School of Music’s outreach programs. It is my understanding that that funding has been maintained. I see that the minister is nodding and I assume that he will state this shortly. My understanding is that the funding has been maintained. The issue is not the ACT government’s funding for this being reduced.
The second point is about the School of Music and its choice of how it spends the ACT government’s money. As I said earlier, I respect the School of Music’s professional expertise in this. I think they are in a better position than me or the Assembly to determine the priorities for outreach programs.
I am in full support of the government continuing to provide adequate funding for ANU extension programs and community outreach programs. These are important. Basically, what I am doing is calling upon the ACT government and the School of Music to work together on the best outreach programs that will support high performing, elite students as well as the broader community that loves the arts in the ACT.
MR RAMSAY (Ginninderra—Attorney-General, Minister for the Arts and Cultural Events, Minister for Building Quality Improvement, Minister for Business and Regulatory Services and Minister for Seniors and Veterans) (12.19): I also rise today to correct the assumptions and the inaccuracies in Ms Lee’s motion and to support the amendment that has been moved by Ms Le Couteur. I note that as part of her speech today Ms Lee said it was only a few weeks ago that she learned of this whole matter. I certainly invite Ms Lee and those opposite to consider the level of attention they pay not only to government announcements but also to what occurs in this chamber.
On 9 February this year the government and the ANU both announced a new three-year funding agreement for the ANU community outreach program to provide music and visual arts programs for their Canberra community. At that time both the government and the ANU announced that the music for colleges program, which is the vehicle and the funding stream by which the government facilitates the ANU delivering its jazz and classical music curriculum enrichment, would be transitioned off funding, with a year’s notice, and that there would be transitional
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