Page 1264 - Week 04 - Thursday, 5 May 2022
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appropriate, infrastructure is available for the use of students, teachers and other members of the school community; ensuring universal accessibility for all students and ensuring that students with a disability are fully included in mainstream schools; ensuring that school infrastructure decisions promote sustainability and support effective climate management; ensuring that school infrastructure decisions are informed by expert advice and by meaningful consultations with community; and promoting equity and transparency in resourcing decisions.
The report makes 35 recommendations to improve the management of infrastructure in ACT schools. It is supported by all the committee members. The committee intends to conduct a subsequent inquiry into the future of school infrastructure in the coming months, with a view to exploring options to improve amenity and access for ACT school students as the ACT population continues to grow.
On behalf of the committee, I thank everyone who contributed to this important inquiry. I also wish to thank the other members of the committee, Mr Davis and Ms Lawder. I commend the committee’s report to the Assembly.
MR DAVIS (Brindabella) (12.08): I will not speak for too long, but I wanted to take a moment to thank the committee members for their collaborative work on this committee—all 35 recommendations. It is, in my short time in this Assembly, the biggest and most comprehensive committee report to government that I have worked on. I think that speaks to the value of school infrastructure and maintenance and the importance held in the community. That was noted by the 24 submissions. As the chair noted, there was certainly a lot of interest in this area.
While there are 35 recommendations, and I do not intend to go through them all in detail, there is one that I want to highlight, as I am particularly pleased to see it in here. Recommendation 29 is:
The Committee recommends that the ACT Government ensures that all indoor spaces in ACT public schools are climate controlled by the end of 2024.
This is particularly important while we are in the midst of a climate crisis. We have seen in recent months the effect that climate catastrophes can have on our school students and on our school communities. We understand that the threat posed by climate change makes it critical to provide temperature controlled, ventilated and smoke-free indoor learning spaces for students and educators alike.
The ACT Greens are committed to healthy and safe school environments for all students, teachers and other staff. We will continue to advocate strongly for essential upgrades and maintenance as required. Of all the recommendations, as good as they are—and I hope that they are all taken on by government—I will certainly be advocating strongly and keeping a keen eye on recommendation 29, because all students, teachers and school staff deserve comfortable, healthy places to work and learn in.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Sitting suspended from 12.10 to 2.00 pm.
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