Page 1934 - Week 07 - Thursday, 13 August 2020
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
circumstances it is entirely appropriate that fees are waived, and this amendment requires the minister to do just that.
The third group of amendments relates to the composition of school boards in ACT government schools. There are currently six government schools in the ACT that do not have an active parents and citizens association. Under current legislation that means there are no legislative means for those schools to have a parent representative on their board. These changes to the act will allow the appointment of a parent or local community representative where there is no P&C. Obviously, it is always preferable that a school has an active P&C, but we have to accept that, for whatever reason, a school may not have one. It is inevitable that volunteer activities, like membership of a P&C, are not always possible.
The fourth group of amendments addresses a current anomaly relating to school attendance. At present there is no mechanism to enforce attendance for students who live in New South Wales but attend a school in the ACT. For ACT residents, if a child does not attend school the government can step in and enforce student attendance as per the requirements under the Education Act. However, that is not the case for New South Wales students enrolled in the ACT. At last count, about 4,500 ACT students live in New South Wales, with about 1,800 attending a government school. That figure will grow as more and more housing developments come on stream close to the border. That means there was a huge potential for students to get lost in the system.
In presenting the bill, the minister referenced a 2016 report of a review into system level responses to family violence in the ACT. That report said that a child either not attending school or moving schools frequently could be an indication of child abuse or neglect. The amendments to sections 10A, 10D and 145C will strengthen attendance requirements and link compulsory attendance of a student in an ACT school irrespective of where they live.
Other amendments will also provide information-sharing provisions between the ACT government and relevant interjurisdictional bodies such as the New South Wales Department of Education or the Department of Communities and Justice to ensure that no student falls through the cracks.
As indicated by the minister, this bill is not regarded as significant, but the changes are nevertheless important. The Canberra Liberals will be supporting the bill.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (11.16): The amendments in this bill are designed to increase clarity about the roles and responsibilities of people carrying a duty of care to children and young people in schools and ensure that students are better protected by implementing a recommendation from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse relating to boarding schools.
As the explanatory statement sets out, the proposed amendment to section 26 will articulate the minister’s ability to waive fees for international students, having regard to human rights, under certain humanitarian and financial hardship grounds. This amendment aims to ensure that all children and young people have access to education in an ACT government school.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video