Page 3944 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 5 December 2007
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Towards the end of next year, construction will start at the new performing arts complex at Lyneham high school. Lyneham high school has a thriving performing arts program at the school, and the new complex will provide a great space to showcase the talented students at Lyneham.
Over the next four years, the Stanhope government will be opening four new schools across Canberra to enable Canberra students access to the best in educational infrastructure, not just in the new suburbs but in established suburbs as well. The fourth school opening in four years will be in 2011, when the new P-10 school in north Tuggeranong will open on the site of the Kambah high school.
I expect that this new school, in my electorate, on the highly visible site of Drakeford Drive, will become a beacon for public schools and a real drawcard for what schools of the 21st century will look like. The new school in Tuggeranong was made possible through comprehensive community consultation, some hard decisions, but also a Kambah community that was forward looking—a community wanting a facility that was state of the art, a school of the 21st century rather than the tired facility that currently exists.
The new school will be built on the site of the current Kambah high school, with a view to it opening in 2011. It will embrace the same high-quality design as the Amaroo school, the West Belconnen P-10 school and Harrison, and will be constructed with a commitment to environmental sustainability. The preschool will be closely linked to the primary school, to form an early childhood school integrated within the school complex. The school design will provide flexible, modern, high-quality and environmentally sustainable educational facilities that will be accessible to the Tuggeranong community.
This school will also have a strong presence from the Canberra Institute of Technology. Planning is already under way for the new school. In the coming months, an adaptive reuse study of the current site will be undertaken to ensure we can make the best use of the site. Consultation on the design of the new school will start soon after that. Four new schools in four years, two in newer areas and two in more established areas—this is the result of hard decisions, strong commitment and a record investment in public education.
I know that it is getting close to our lunch break. Mrs Dunne delivered for us today a free kick, an opportunity to outline our strong investment in education, backed by a commitment to public education, a true testimony to the vision of the Stanhope government. Now that Mrs Dunne has circulated an amendment to Mr Barr’s amendment, Mr Barr will now have a further opportunity to expand on this significant investment.
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (12.16): The telling point, the really cutting point, in Mr Gentleman’s speech is, of course, that we want to go to lunch. This is the Mick Gentleman approach to school closures. I have got 10 minutes. I can only muster five minutes and 57 seconds because somebody else wrote the speech for me; I cannot think on my feet. He will not defend the students of his electorate, as he referred to it, but would prefer to go to lunch. And does that not summarise the approach of the Stanhope government to so many issues in the ACT?
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