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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-06-17 Daily Xml
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SCHOOL AMALGAMATIONS

Mr PISONI (Unley) (15:17): Thank you, sir.

Members interjecting:

Mr PISONI: I am glad to see that I was missed yesterday.

Members interjecting:

Mr PISONI: Can the Minister for Education advise how much the government expects to receive from the sale of land and assets in Port Pirie, Port Augusta and Whyalla resulting from the planned closure and amalgamation of 44 schools in the region?

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH (Adelaide—Minister for Education, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (15:17): I think the member for Unley is again trying to cause disharmony and grief in the community. The issues in regional South Australia to which he alludes involve the work being done around the Building the Education Revolution in schools in the regions, which I know members opposite do not support because they voted against it.

There are 250,000 schoolchildren in South Australia, which would tend to suggest that there are probably half a million parents or, allowing for a few merged families, maybe a few more, and those half a million parents probably have also about a quarter of a million grandparents. So, overall there are about one million people who are delighted that the federal government is spending $1 billion on school infrastructure in South Australia. In fact, they do not complain about it, they are very grateful and delighted that it is occurring.

Regional schools have been considering re-aligning their services through amalgamations, because we know that the government's policy of a one-stop shop has been very popular in some areas. Parents love opportunities to drop off at child care, kindy and primary schools on the same site. Many regional schools are looking at Education Works initiatives. We are happy to look at those areas but, if they are involved in a Building the Education Revolution project, whereby there is a massive investment, we will negotiate to make sure that money is well spent. We do not want schools to amalgamate and have a massive infrastructure investment on sites that are no longer occupied.

Clearly, extra thought is involved in where those school investments might be. I understand that those opposite hate the idea of money being spent on public schools. They hate the idea that we have spent so much more over the last eight years. They have actively discouraged and tried to undermine—

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order, Mr Speaker: I have been sitting here thinking—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WILLIAMS: —that the point of order should be about relevance.

The SPEAKER: What is the point of order?

Mr WILLIAMS: I was thinking it should be about relevance, sir, but as I was getting to my feet the minister started to debate. So, there are two points of order: one is about lack of relevance and the other is that the minister is debating the question.

The SPEAKER: The minister must answer the substance of the question.

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: The substance of the question is that, if schools amalgamate under a Labor Rann government, then it is because of their choice. They have decided to do so and they have voted. Those opposite—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: —hate money to be spent on public education. They hate money to be spent on public schools. In fact, the spokesperson thinks that public education is rotten to the core. He hates money being spent and, unlike them, our government, the Rann Labor government, does not close schools. Unlike them—64 schools, I think, they closed in their term. They are the ones who closed the schools. We are the ones who invest in them.

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