Page 1412 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 11 May 1994
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As expected, Madam Speaker - I am very pleased that this was announced last evening - the Commonwealth has implemented an innovative national prevention strategy for child abuse and neglect. All of the States and Territories will be involved in that program, and I am sure that it has the total support and commitment of all members of this Assembly. In addition, Madam Speaker, the budget provides funds to continue the national child-care strategy. These last two initiatives, in my view and in the view of this Government, are matters which will receive, and should receive, the support of the community at large, but most certainly of this Assembly. I look forward, as the responsible Minister, to working not only with my Government colleagues but also with those opposite and on the cross benches to implement these strategies in the coming year.
Literacy Survey
MR CORNWELL: My question is to Mr Wood, the Minister for Education. Mr Wood, I refer to the Federal Government's decision to provide $3.2m over the next three years to conduct a national survey of the literacy of students aged 7, 9 and 13 years. Do you know how much is going to be provided for the ACT?
MR WOOD: Madam Speaker, I do not know how much will be provided to the ACT. It is obviously a national program, so the ACT will clearly be part of it. I am surprised that Mr Cornwell, in view of the tone of questions from the Opposition today, has dared to ask a question about education. What the national ALP Government has done in education is just so far ahead of what John Hewson was proposing that any question from that side is simply laughable. When you compare the different policies of Hewson and Keating in vocational education and training in particular, you people ought to be ashamed of yourselves. You ought to close your mouths on the subject of education. The ALP Government in Canberra will be providing nationally $1.5 billion for vocational training up to 1997. That is an immense amount of money. Hewson was barely able to perceive of any need at all. He could not comprehend the issue at stake.
I have a list of what the budget provides in the way of education over and above the immense amount that the Commonwealth has been pouring into education over the years. Incidentally, the conservative States, Mr Cornwell's colleagues in Western Australia in particular, do not really want it. They are not very happy with the Commonwealth contribution. They seem to want the Commonwealth to get out of education altogether. There is $48m over the next three years for national Asian languages and study strategies to encourage further what we do in Canberra, and what other schools in Australia do, in teaching Asian languages. That is something I have never heard the Opposition talk about. There is off-the-job training provider assistance, to come through ANTA, worth $8.6m nationally. That is a very specific program which will also feed back to the ACT. There is about $9m as part of the national equity program, of which we will get our share, for early literacy - to improve further our very strong efforts in that area.
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