Page 1928 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 6 June 2017
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That is why we went to the last election with clear plans to invest in the services that make this city such a great place to live: our great local schools; our modern and accessible hospitals and healthcare system; and a transport system that gets you where you need to go quickly and conveniently.
We understand the importance of renewing and boosting these essential services and doing that now so that we are ready as more people call Canberra home.
Under the ACT Government’s plan, we can keep on getting better as our city grows.
There should be absolutely no trade-off between being an engaging, diverse and growing city, while retaining what makes our city so special and one where high-quality services are available close to home, when you need them. That is what we are delivering in this Budget.
Better schools for our kids
Madam Speaker, a great education depends on two things: excellent teachers who can bring learning to life, and well-equipped schools and classrooms where this learning can happen.
With this Budget, the Government is investing in both, to deliver better schools for our kids.
As we promised in the election, we are funding 25 scholarships a year to help Territory teachers gain post-graduate qualifications in science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM), as well as those who want to gain qualifications in another language. We know STEM learning is increasingly important for preparing our kids for the jobs that await them after they leave school, so we will ensure that ACT schools have more skilled teachers who can confidently and engagingly deliver these subjects.
At the same time, our funding of 66 school assistants across Canberra is taking pressure off teachers, freeing them up to spend more time on lesson planning, and directly addressing the individual learning needs of our students.
The impact of good teachers is strengthened by great classrooms and school facilities. That is why we are engaging in a large program of refurbishment of our schools right across Canberra.
Through capital investments and grants driven by school needs, we will extend existing classrooms, build new ones, refurbish toilets and change room areas, install heating and cooling, and improve school grounds. We recognise that, with the average age of a Territory school being 42 years, we need to keep investing to improve our learning spaces so that our kids get the most out of their time at school.
But, as we all know, a good learning environment is about more than just classrooms
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