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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 8 Hansard (28 October) . . Page.. 2320 ..
MS TUCKER (continuing):
The argument that it is unacceptable to do this because it will increase costs - that is, reduce profit for businesses - no longer holds much weight. The polluter-pays principle is well accepted. The ACT Government states in its own vision statement for no waste by 2010:
By 2010 it is envisaged that waste will have been eliminated by a community that:
has encouraged the producers of goods to take responsibility for the form in which their products are sold to ensure that waste is not generated with the initial production, during use or at the end of the product's life ...
I commend this Bill to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Moore) adjourned.
MR BERRY (10.39): I move:
That the Minister for Education reverse his decision to suspend Downer preschool next year and ensure that the preschool remains open.
This motion is significant when considered against the background of events which led to the closure of Downer Preschool. My motion requires the Minister for Education to reverse his decision to suspend Downer Preschool next year and ensure that the preschool remains open. If passed, this motion will require the Government to implement that decision.
Mr Speaker, you have to look at the history of preschool management over the past few months, over the period of office of this Government. Much of the debate about preschools in the ACT commenced with the release of an Auditor-General's report into the management of preschool education. This report raised issues about the utilisation rates and asset values of various preschools, among other matters. Significant amongst those other matters were the staff salary costs for each of the preschools which were being looked at by the Auditor-General.
The Government, in the first place, took great delight, it appeared, in seizing upon the Auditor-General's comments in respect of building utilisation rates, therefore drawing into question the future of a number of preschools. I will go through those preschools. They were listed in the following order in the report: Deakin, Causeway, Pearce, Lyons, Duffy, Weetangera, Flynn, Cook, Evatt, Miles Franklin, Hawker and Fraser. Nowhere in that list was Downer Preschool mentioned. Indeed, the Auditor-General raised no question about the future of Downer Preschool. So it is fair to say that whilst other preschool communities were concerned about the future of their preschools Downer could not have been if it had listened to the debate which surrounded this
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