Page 936 - Week 04 - Thursday, 7 May 2020
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The proposal for additional parking to support this local shopping precinct, as identified by the local community, is subject to consideration as part of the ACT Budget process. If funded, it is anticipated that public consultation would occur prior to construction as part of the design planning phase of the project. This is to ensure aspects such as the location and design layout of the project meets the expectations of the community.
Thank you for your continued interest in this matter. I trust this information is of assistance.
Motion to take note of petitions
MADAM SPEAKER: Pursuant to standing order 98A, I propose the question:
That the petitions and response so lodged be noted.
Schools—online learning—petition 8-20
MS LEE (Kurrajong) (10.41): COVID-19 is a once in a generation global pandemic, and here in the ACT we are fortunate to be the envy of Australia and perhaps the world in how the community has responded to keep our case numbers low. Where we are failing is in responding to changing circumstances in the education space.
There has never been any dispute about whether it has been safe to open schools. The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee—AHPPC—the Australian Medical Association, the commonwealth Chief Medical Officer and the ACT Chief Health Officer have all been consistent in their advice that schools are safe. The AHPPC has gone further, acknowledging that keeping students out of school impacts 15 per cent of the total workforce and 30 per cent of the healthcare workforce who are not able to work all the hours they need to because their children are not at school.
In turning to the petition it is worth noting who the two signatures are from. Professor Peter Collignon is a world-renowned infectious disease physician, ANU professor and microbiologist. He has been appointed to many expert committees of the World Health Organisation and his work was recognised in 2010 with a Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to medicine. He believes ACT schools are safe and should be open, so he and his wife have signed this formal petition calling on the government to accept that, although a lot of time and effort has been invested in planning for online learning for term 2, it is no longer the optimum solution for our community and that schools should reopen in term 2 or as soon as possible.
I seek leave to table two out-of-order petitions in similar terms to this one, which have collectively received over 350 signatures online through the Change.org website.
Leave granted.
MS LEE: I table the following out-of-order petitions:
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