Page 360 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 22 March 2022

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length of Limestone Ave, and repair broken segments to reduce the risk of sporting equipment, children and animals inadvertently crossing into the path of motorists.

Community language schools—rapid antigen tests—petition 3-22

By Mr Braddock, from 57 residents:

To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory

The following residents of the ACT draw to the attention of the Assembly: since the ACT Government announced the plans to return to schools, free Rapid Antigen Tests have been offered to students and teachers in public and private schools. This ensures that schools are able to detect and isolate positive cases before this affects large numbers of people.

Conversely, ACT’s 46 Community Language Schools, servicing over 2 000 students and run by more than 300 volunteer staff, have not been given free access to RATs. This is putting a further financial burden on our already overstretched and under resourced schools.

Without access to free tests, the Community Language Schools will not be able to offer a safe working place for volunteers. Further, we are likely to be affected by severe staff shortages and be forced to close or stop our classes, which offer a critical community service to Canberra’s migrant and refugee communities.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the Assembly to call upon the Government to supply all teachers of Canberra’s Community Language Schools with free Rapid Antigen Tests, commensurate with the supply given to public school teachers.

The Clerk having announced that the terms of the petitions would be recorded in Hansard and a copy referred to the appropriate minister for response pursuant to standing order 100, the petition was received.

Ministerial responses

The following responses to petitions have been lodged:

Phillip—swimming pool—petitions 42-21 and 47-21

By Ms Berry, Minister for Sport and Recreation, dated 8 February 2022, in response to two petitions lodged by Mrs Jones on 30 November 2021 concerning Phillip Pool.

The response read as follows:

Dear Mr Duncan

Thank you for your letter of 30 November 2021 relating to the petitions (42-21 and 47-21) lodged by Ms Giulia Jones MLA requesting ‘the Government to:

provide a grant to fix the Phillip Pool and assist in ensuring this occurs; and


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