Page 3353 - Week 09 - Thursday, 22 August 2019
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The ACT government recognises students as individuals with their own path, based on their developing interests, knowledge and skills. This plan supports teachers to ensure that all students are appropriately engaged, challenged and extended by designing classroom activities to meet students’ individual learning needs. The plan includes strategies to involve students as decision-makers in their learning. A student voice will allow students to have a say about how things are done and pathways that are most suited to their goals.
The plan also includes strategies to focus the education system on what matters most in achieving student outcomes. This includes aligning legislation, resources, organisational structures, public accountability and reporting and teaching tools, along with data and IT, with the aim of pursuing educational equity. The full implementation plan can be accessed on the Education Directorate website.
Government—heritage policy
MS LAWDER: My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage. Minister, nearly half of all nominations of places or objects to the heritage register have waited decades to be assessed. This morning’s Canberra Times reported that the president of the Canberra & District Historical Society said that this backlog “implies the government has put a very low priority on heritage”. Minister, why has this government put such a very low priority on heritage?
MR GENTLEMAN: I thank Ms Lawder for the question. It is not the case at all. In fact, we have invested in more staff for EPSDD in each of our budgets over the past couple of years. I remind the Assembly that the Canberra Liberals have voted against those resources.
The work that the Heritage Council do is very important. They do that work in best practice to prioritise heritage nominations for assessments based on a range of factors, including imminent threat, thematic representation and pressures from development or other works. When we talk about those numbers, since reaching a peak of 320 nominations in 2008, 232 decisions have been made, resulting in a current nomination list of 88. We are now seeing only 10 or fewer nominations each year.
I do not think it will be too long before we get to the end of the list. If we look at the period for this year, 2018-19, there were six nominations accepted, and three of those were dismissed. The trend is coming down on nominations. That is because Canberra is still a young city. People have identified earlier heritage aspects of the city. Those were nominated in the early days. The other thing to think about is that as these nominations come forward, on a number of occasions there will be a nomination perhaps for an object or a building and a secondary nomination for a part of that object or building. Some of these nominations are to do with the one structure, for example. The Heritage Council need to go through and have a look at all of those.
The extra resources that we are providing will assist EPSDD in providing the resources to the Heritage Council to make the nominations and decisions.
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