Page 2076 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 21 June 2011
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taken in the interests of a sustainable public education system for the children of the ACT. We took some decisions back in 2004, 2005, around the future of Ginninderra district high school, and I think if anyone has a look at that school in 2005 and that school in 2011, they cannot come into this place and say that decision was wrong. We have a thriving school community in new facilities, whereas there was an ageing building falling down with about 80 students attending the school—
Mrs Dunne interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Thank you, Mrs Dunne.
MS GALLAGHER: and those enrolments were declining. I do not think, on any measure, I need to apologise to the Canberra community for delivering a brand-new school for the people of west Belconnen.
Housing—social plan
MS HUNTER: My question is to the Chief Minister and is in regard to the social plan. Chief Minister, in the 2004 social plan the former Chief Minister expressed a commitment of zero rough sleepers by 2013. In the development of your 2011 social plan, are you seeking to maintain that goal and, if not, what is an acceptable level of rough sleepers?
MS GALLAGHER: This is an incredibly complex area for the government and the non-government sectors and the community more broadly to work in. It is difficult, I think, to set targets around no-one will be sleeping rough because we do know that there are some people in our local community who, with whatever support we can provide, will still make their own decisions about where they want to sleep at night.
In terms of the social plan, we are in the process now of updating the plan and the latest information available for that, and we will make that available shortly. But in terms of the next steps for the social plan, that is currently before government at this point in time and I think there is the opportunity, with a new leader, to be able to have a look at what our policy documents are saying, how we are communicating them to the community and whether all of the aspects, strategies and details in those plans are still relevant.
So I am taking the next couple of months to have a look at all of those and refresh those documents. But we will update the social plan, as the former Chief Minister had announced.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Hunter?
MS HUNTER: Yes, thank you, Mr Speaker. Chief Minister, is it fair to say that if the government does not keep up with demand for public housing, it will have to assist most of those Canberrans through homelessness services?
MS GALLAGHER: I did miss the first part of your question just because of the excessive little discussions that are going on across the way from me, Ms Hunter. But I think your question is: if we do not keep up with increasing public housing stock,
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