Page 4128 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 22 October 2019
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MS CODY: Minister, how will these projects improve public education in the ACT?
MS BERRY: Canberra is growing and so too are our public school enrolments. Enrolments are expected to grow by around 1400 students or around three per cent per year for the next decade. That is 14,000 students over the next decade.
The infrastructure plan ensures that all ACT children will have a place in a public school from preschool through to college. Our schools and colleges focus on equipping students with skills and attitudes to lead fulfilling, productive and responsible lives. These objectives are the key elements of the future of education strategy which provides a framework for student-centred teaching and learning underpinned by quality teaching and active participation from students and their families.
In the 2019-20 ACT budget the ACT government announced that it would invest $52.2 million over four years in expanding schools across the city, with a specific focus on catering to the growing student population of Gungahlin. Since 2016 the government has spent $180.3 million on capital works programs for ACT public schools. Every ACT public school has received an upgrade as part of this program.
MR GUPTA: Minister, what school infrastructure projects are forecast in the plan for Yerrabi?
MS BERRY: The government is planning a variety of school infrastructure projects in the electorate of Yerrabi to cater for the population growth in Gungahlin. By term 1 of 2020, the government will deliver expanded facilities and increased capacity at Neville Bonner Primary School, Gold Creek School’s junior campus and Gungahlin College. The expansion of Franklin Early Childhood School to a P-6 school will be complete before term 4 in 2021. Gold Creek School’s senior campus will have an additional 200 places by 2022. The government is planning a new primary school in Throsby for the 2022 school year, as well as a school in east Gungahlin for the 2023 school year.
Madam Speaker, I ask that all further questions be placed on the notice paper.
Supplementary answer to question without notice
Access Canberra—littering reports
MR STEEL: Earlier in question time I was asked about the fix my street home page. I can confirm that we use a place-based approach where people can log on, choose a location where the issue is occurring, and then choose from a drop-down menu that includes litter and illegal dumping, graffiti and vandalism, and other issues. This allows people to report litter based on whether it has happened in a park, on a road, by a shared path or in some other location. To prove the point of the availability of that, I will table a screenshot of the fix my street website, which I did have open in front of me during question time. I table the following paper:
Fix My Street website—Screenshot.
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