Page 641 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 1990
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has occurred, and to advise Mr Moore in due course as to the result of those inquiries.
School Buses
MRS NOLAN: My question is also to Mr Humphries as Minister for Education. During the first weeks of the 1990 school year there were some problems in relation to school buses, especially in the Tuggeranong valley but in other areas of Canberra as well. Have these problems now been rectified?
MR HUMPHRIES: Well, there certainly has been a problem with school buses over the past few weeks. Through consultation between myself and Mr Duby I believe a successful solution to those problems has been found. Again, the Government's capacity to discuss this between ourselves and between members of the community has been very helpful. We did experience a number of routes where overcrowding was occurring, where certain needs were being identified but not met and where, indeed a shortfall in services was identified.
I can say that that was all done in the context of a very considerable cut in the size of the school bus budget from last year's 1989-90 budget. There was a cut in the order of $700,000 out of a budget of about $7m by the previous Government. It was certainly a very difficult issue which we had to address.
I believe we have now solved those problems, partly by reallocating resources and organising a better use of available routes, and partly by allocating resources to the area of school bussing. I believe that we will have to continue to monitor the situation with school buses to ensure that services are up to standard and that needs are being met, but I am confident that will happen and certainly for the rest of this year I believe that the standard of school bussing will not decline.
PERSONAL EXPLANATION
MRS GRASSBY: Mr Speaker, I seek leave to make a personal explanation.
MR SPEAKER: Do you claim to have been misrepresented?
MRS GRASSBY: Yes, I do, Mr Speaker. During question time yesterday Mr Collaery, in answer to Ms Carmel Maher concerning the proposed redevelopment of the Northbourne Flats, tabled in the Assembly a letter from Mr Alan Johnson, the development manager of Civil & Civic. In his statement to the Assembly in tabling the letter, Mr Collaery sought to establish by imputation that this letter was evidence that during my tenure as Minister for Housing
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