Page 1020 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 24 March 2015
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
MR COE (Ginninderra) (12.04): I move:
That the debate be adjourned.
Question put:
That Mr Coe’s motion be agreed to.
The Assembly voted—
|
Ayes 7 |
Noes 8 | ||
|
Mr Coe |
Ms Lawder |
Mr Barr |
Mr Corbell |
|
Mr Doszpot |
Mr Smyth |
Ms Berry |
Mr Gentleman |
|
Mrs Dunne |
Mr Wall |
Dr Bourke |
Ms Porter |
|
Mr Hanson |
Ms Burch |
Mr Rattenbury | |
Question so resolved in the negative.
MR COE (Ginninderra) (12.08): Madam Speaker, the opposition have serious concerns about the University of Canberra Amendment Bill 2015. The government claims that this bill is a higher education bill which deals with governance at the University of Canberra. However, this bill is really about planning and development. It is about the potential for UC to sell off land or, as stipulated in the bill, to exploit land. The Canberra Liberals will be opposing parts of this bill.
The bill includes amendments to the governance of the University of Canberra. These amendments alter the remuneration arrangements for council members. This means that the council may pass a two-thirds resolution to provide remuneration to a council member. At present, remuneration can only be set by the Remuneration Tribunal. This amendment means that the council will have the authority to provide additional remuneration if it is required to attract appropriate council members.
The bill also includes a provision to allow for a casual vacancy in the council to be filled. Provisions to allow the council to terminate the term of the chancellor or deputy chancellor by a special resolution are also included in the bill.
Finally, the bill expands the values of the University of Canberra to include a “commitment, through education and research, to reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people”.
The Canberra Liberals will be supporting the governance changes included in this bill. However, I would now like to turn to the more troubling parts of this proposed piece of legislation.
The bill makes significant changes to the application of planning laws to the University of Canberra. It extends the functions of the university to include the development of cultural, sporting, professional, technical and vocational services. More controversially, the bill includes an additional function which is to
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video