SCHOOL AMALGAMATIONS

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:34): My question is, again, to the Premier. Will the Premier guarantee that junior primary and primary schools that do not wish to amalgamate will not be forced to amalgamate?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! You have asked the question; listen to the answer.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:35): So, when I don't answer the question, then I get criticised; if I don't leave it to the minister for education, I get criticised.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: That's right. No, I won't give that guarantee, because the process doesn't provide for it. The process that is set out in the legislation—which, I think, you participated in supporting—has been in place—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: We are not inclined to because we think it is the correct process; that is, that there is a process of review that is presently being undertaken. All the schools that are going through that process will have their points of view taken into account, and then it comes for the minister to make a decision.

It needs to be borne in mind what we are talking about here. We are talking about schools that are already on the same site, so we are not talking about an amalgamation in the traditional sense of two schools moving from one site to another, where you have closure of one school. These schools will stay exactly where they are. Nobody will close, nothing will be lost, no land will be disposed of.

The second issue that needs to be borne in mind here is the schools. I cannot quite remember the number (the minister may correct me), but I think there are 340 primary schools which are in this situation and which have already amalgamated the junior primary school and primary school. They have abolished that distinction, and it is only a small number of schools that remain in this anomalous situation. During the budget we decided to remove this anomaly, and a number of those schools have decided voluntarily to go through this process and agree to it.

What needs to be borne in mind is that there is a capital investment of $27 million that will support the process of the amalgamation. This is an economy, there is no doubt, but it is a sensible economy. In the same budget where we sought to make these sensible savings, we actually increased the education budget by $203 million.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Little Para.