Page 426 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 24 February 1993
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Question put:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
The Assembly voted -
AYES, 7 NOES, 10
Mrs Carnell Mr Berry
Mr Cornwell Mr Connolly
Mr De Domenico Ms Ellis
Mr Humphries Ms Follett
Mr Kaine Mrs Grassby
Mr Stevenson Mr Lamont
Mr Westende Ms McRae
Mr Moore
Ms Szuty
Mr Wood
Question so resolved in the negative.
SCHOOL CLOSURES
MR CORNWELL (12.16): I move:
That this Assembly urges the ACT Government to deal flexibly with the problem of school closures in the ACT in the interests of educational fairness and equity.
Last night the chickens finally came home to roost for this Follett Labor Government after, I suggest, a brief 11-month fly around the playground. This followed the cynical and politically expedient promise made before the March 1992 election that no government school would close in Labor's first three-year term of office. The undertaking was made unequivocally and, in particular, made no qualification about the size of the school. It was a foolish, thoughtless promise which was directed simply at winning votes and not at providing an equitable and fair education to all government school students.
Further, it was made in the full knowledge that, in many areas of the ACT, government primary and secondary schools were experiencing declining enrolments. This situation is not new. One has only to recall the bitter political and community dispute that raged during the term of the last Assembly. It led to schools being closed and subsequently reopened, leading to a situation where Cook Primary and Lyons Primary opened for the 1992 school year with 112 and 111 pupils respectively. One might seriously question the validity of such small schools. Indeed, anecdotal evidence has indicated that some difficulties have been experienced there in the past year, despite the very dedicated efforts of the school community. It is fair to say that many, even most, people who are interested in and concerned about education in the ACT were apprehensive about such small schools and their educational viability.
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