Page 519 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 8 March 2011
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And to this, it is troubling to note that the minister has carte blanche and justifies his school closures and subsequent financial rationalisations to feed into his ICT fetish. After all, electronic gadgets look cool and spin a good media release, not to mention a catchy sound grab or two.
In February, we had the headline “State-of-the-art schools impress pupils, teachers”, but this month the Canberra Times headline reads “ACT Lags Behind Averages”. It is quite intuitive to anyone who has a child, is a member of a school community and/or understands education, that good schools are made up of good teachers and administrators. And in this context, it is about the students.
Today’s MPI covers a broad range of topics and can be approached in many ways. And my colleagues in the opposition will present a host of other examples of this government failing to keep its promise to Canberrans. What I want to highlight in my speech today is the simple fact that the present government has lost sight of its most important duty and promise, and that is to serve the people of this city. In a democracy such as ours, we are after all, to quote Abraham Lincoln, “a government of the people, by the people, for the people”.
MR STANHOPE: (Ginninderra—Chief Minister, Minister for Transport, Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Business and Economic Development, Minister for Land and Property Services, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs and Minister for the Arts and Heritage) (3.40): It is wonderful to see a member of the Liberal Party supporting democracy today after having just this morning voted against it. Are you conscious at all, Steve, of the hypocrisy of that particular position or argument?
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Mrs Dunne): Mr Stanhope, could you address the chair and not Mr Doszpot across the chamber.
MR STANHOPE: I am enormously pleased to have this opportunity to give members of the Assembly, and indeed the community, an update on the road travelled by the ACT government over the last two years in the delivery of the promises that we made at the last election, our commitment to meeting those promises and the way in which we have assiduously, through hard work, through dedication and through a commitment to this community, delivered on them.
As members, I am sure we are all aware that in the last election campaign we made a total of 298 separate promises or commitments through the particular process of the election campaign. I am particularly grateful to Mr Doszpot of the Liberal Party today for giving me this opportunity to update members on progress at this point after two budgets in a four-year cycle, with two budgets down and two to go. We look closely, as I say, rigorously, at the promises we gave and work on our determination to meet them. Of the 298 election promises the subject of this particular matter of importance, we have commenced or completed 192 of the 298. That is a completion rate or a commitment rate of 64 per cent after two budgets. So at 50 per cent, in terms of funding capacity or opportunity, we have met 64 per cent of commitments we made.
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