Page 293 - Week 01 - Thursday, 17 February 2011

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ideal world, of course, we would do everything all at once. But every ACT government organisation is constrained by its other priorities, by its level of resourcing, by its capacity and by its staff. We need to accept, as we all do, that we cannot do everything all at once and satisfy everybody’s particular immediate priority.

ACT government agencies and the government take decisions, for better or worse, on the priorities which we expect our agencies and organisations to focus on at a particular time. That is the decision, I assume, that was taken in relation to this particular project. There are a range of other priorities, for instance, getting MyWay operational, which has consumed significant resources and received some significant criticism from you, Mr Coe, in terms of time lines and effort. That is also about resources and capacity and staff and staff availability.

We have priorities. We are investing heavily. We are pursuing each of them. But there is an order and there is a limit to our capacity determined by the level of our resourcing. I think everybody intuitively understands that. (Time expired.)

Bimberi Youth Justice Centre—staff

MR COE: My question is to the Minister for Children and Young People. Minister, have any workers at Bimberi, whether employed or contract staff, requested to be taken off line duty? If yes, why and how many?

MS BURCH: There has been some redeployment of some staff. We are focused very much on empowering the unit leaders and team leaders out there and have gone through how they best work within those units. I do not think it has resulted in staff coming offline as such. Bimberi, the facility itself, has that our staff interact with each other and with the young people on a regular and ongoing basis; that is the nature of the facility there. So I am not quite sure where Mr Coe is going with the question.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Coe, a supplementary question?

MR COE: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Minister, how many education staff were teaching at Bimberi in 2010 and how many of them returned for duties in 2011?

MS BURCH: Again, teaching staff come through DET. There are a number of teaching staff that have returned; there are a number that have not returned. No, I do not know the exact number that have come back. I can find that out and bring it back, but these are teachers making choices about where they choose to teach. Some of the teachers at Bimberi last year were contracted through CIT to do a particular program; now that program is not on offer. I do not think that that is a teacher not coming back; that is just a teacher who has fulfilled his duties, fulfilled the role, and that is the end of that.

MRS DUNNE: A supplementary question, Mr Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mrs Dunne.

MRS DUNNE: Minister, what changes, either in content or duration, have been made to staff induction programs for 2011 compared to those programs run in 2010?


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