Page 2700 - Week 09 - Thursday, 9 August 1990
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School Closures
MR BERRY: My question is also to the Minister for Education and I should add that this is the third question for the Opposition Labor group. The answer might involve figures so it might be difficult for Mr Humphries, but I am sure he will address himself to it. Which schools will need transportable units as a result of school closures?
MR HUMPHRIES: The fact which has not sunk into Mr Berry as yet is that the indication the Government can give of the use of transportables depends very largely on how many students are enrolled at the school. That follows pretty clearly, I think. Even Mr Berry should be able to work that out in the course of time. Until children actually enrol in the school - and this is only August; it is rather early for them to be enrolling for next year as yet - it is very difficult to come up with any exact and precise estimate of what the requirements are.
Mr Berry: Guess. Just a guess will do.
MR HUMPHRIES: Well I will give you a guesstimate if you just hang ten for a minute. Obviously there will be a requirement in some cases for transportables, assuming that all the students from closing schools were to move over to the so-called receiving schools. I would expect, for example, that one or even two transportables would be required on the site of the Hawker Primary School to accommodate all the students from Weetangera, where they choose to go to the Hawker school.
However, there is every indication that people make a range of choices on these matters and they do not always select the school that has been earmarked for them. I am confident that the number of cases in which transportables will be needed is, however, very small. The case I have mentioned is probably the only certain one where transportables would be required. Beyond that in most cases the already existing surplus capacity of our primary and high schools would accommodate the movement of students that we could expect as a result of this project.
MR BERRY: I ask a supplementary question. Would the Minister kindly tell the Assembly the cost of relocating a transportable to a new site?
MR HUMPHRIES: Again, Mr Berry asks the same question that I answered on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Ms Follett: You must have some idea, come on!
MR HUMPHRIES: Of course I could tell you that particular figure, and I could tell you all the figures relating to this cost exercise. If I did I would be going back on what I said on Tuesday in this place - that I would be making that announcement in the context of the budget. Nobody asked you, Ms Follett, to announce your budget in August of last year.
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