Page 1135 - Week 03 - Thursday, 22 March 2012
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MR SPEAKER: Mrs Dunne, a supplementary.
MRS DUNNE: Minister, will Namadgi continue to house Taylor primary school pupils in 2013, including new enrolments?
DR BOURKE: I thank the member for her question. This is entirely conjectural. I do not know. I have not been advised that Taylor primary school will not be open, that the Taylor primary school site will not be able to be used this year.
MR SPEAKER: Supplementary, Mr Doszpot.
MR DOSZPOT: Minister, are there other alternatives to Namadgi school?
DR BOURKE: I thank the member for the question. There are always alternatives. Namadgi school is the school which is closest, which has space available and is in the same suburb.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Doszpot, a supplementary.
MR DOSZPOT: Minister, can you advise what some of these other alternatives to Namadgi are?
DR BOURKE: I thank the member for his question. There are always choices for parents in the ACT school system. It is really up to parents to choose what they want to do for the education of their children. The transfer of—
Opposition members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Members, the question has been asked.
DR BOURKE: The transfer of Taylor primary school to the Namadgi school is an alternative that is available to parents. If they choose that that is unsatisfactory for their purposes, there is a range of other choices available, which is what our ACT schools system is based upon.
Schools—asbestos
MR HANSON: My question is to the minister for education. Minister, given the recent building damage issues with Mount Taylor following flood damage, what other schools are at similar risk of disturbance of asbestos?
DR BOURKE: Asbestos was a common building material in Canberra last century. As I understand it, its use was banned in 2004. However, there are a number of schools, as there are other public buildings, homes and offices throughout Canberra, which have asbestos in them.
Members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Continue, thank you, Dr Bourke.
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