Page 352 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 19 February 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
situation and remains in contact with the police. Mr Speaker, I will continue to make sure that everything possible happens along those lines, to ensure that the risk is minimised to students at that and any other school.
Literacy and Numeracy - Green Paper
MRS NOLAN: I have a question for Mr Humphries, in his capacity as Minister for Education. Mr Humphries, what progress has been made with the green paper on literacy and numeracy in ACT schools?
MR HUMPHRIES: I thank Mrs Nolan for that question. The green paper, which was launched last year, on literacy and numeracy in ACT schools has, of course, been widely circulated to interested groups, both interstate and locally. The closing date for the paper has been extended to 28 February as a result of representations from a number of groups, and as of 18 February this year 25 responses have been received. Obviously, that number will increase as the closing date draws nearer.
A variety of people and interested parties have replied, ranging from directors of education through to private individuals. The nature of the replies has shown support for the full range of options, with the majority of responses so far supporting processes of monitoring rather than standardised testing. It is proposed to have a draft summary of replies prepared by the end of March this year.
Fluoridation Inquiry
MR STEVENSON: My question is to Mr Humphries, as Minister for Health. Has Mr Humphries read the 309-page report of the ACT fluoridation inquiry, including the 177-page dissenting report?
MR HUMPHRIES: I can indicate that I have found the time to read the majority report, and I deeply regret the fact that I have not as yet found the time to read the full dissenting report. I am sure that I shall put aside some time in the coming weeks to do that. It is a somewhat heftier challenge than the smaller report. I am also grateful to Mr Stevenson for having provided me with a lot of information that he has used in that report on earlier occasions. I have been happy to look at it previously.
MR STEVENSON: I have a supplementary question. In light of the attributed words, that Mr Humphries was concerned that the reduction from one part per million to half might be politically motivated, and in view of the fact that the full report has not yet been read, would that not be a little premature as a statement?
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .