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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-05-13 Daily Xml
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ISOLATED CHILDREN'S PARENTS' ASSOCIATION

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (15:44): I rise today to speak about the Isolated Children's Parents' Association state conference, which was held at Woomera on 1 May this year at the Eldo Hotel—which I am sure, Mr President, you will know from your many years in the Outback.

It was an excellent venue for the conference, which commenced with a welcome from Ms Joanna Gibson as convener, on behalf of the North-west Branch of the ICPA. That was followed by an introduction of guests by the state secretary Mrs Helen Williams and the state president Mrs Sharon Nutt.

The feature of the conference was a number of motions on a number of issues put forward by ICPA members, which were largely to be directed to the state government and a number of which have been on the books for a while. I give great credit to these people. They are enormously selfless in the way in which they go about fighting for the issues that are important to the people who have children in isolated areas of this state. I might say that many of the issues are relevant right across the country. There was representation at the conference from the federal executive of ICPA, which will shortly have its federal conference in Longreach.

I will very quickly take some time to go through some of the motions that were agreed to, mostly in a unanimous fashion, at the conference. The Port Augusta branch moved a motion highlighting the need for adequate recurrent funding for an additional position dedicated to supervisor support for the open access college based at Port Augusta. The North West branch moved a motion requesting that a dedicated supervisor/student support position be reinstated at the School of the Air in order to provide adequate support to supervisors. Three motions were moved in relation to communications by the North East branch, the North West branch and the Flinders Ranges branch, and they were highlighted in this place yesterday by my colleague the Hon. Caroline Schaefer in her question.

The North West branch moved a motion that an urgent investigation be undertaken into the ongoing problems with Centra. To explain that a little, I advise that the open access college has been asked to reduce telephone costs and increase the use of Centra for the delivery of lessons. The members of ICPA wonder how this can happen with the Centra service being so unreliable.

The Flinders Ranges branch moved a motion to go to the government asking that a student travel allowance be made available for preschool students living more than 4.5 kilometres from a preschool facility or a bus route serving a preschool facility. The Flinders Ranges branch successfully moved a motion that DECS provide technical, computer and network support to rural and remote schools for curriculum, through the customer service centre and visiting support officers.

I note that motions were moved by some of the lone members of ICPA, first, to highlight the need to support rural and remote schools by replacing essential administration computer systems, as the equipment is ageing fast and is excessively expensive; and, secondly, that ICPA urgently lobby the Minister for Education and Children's Services and the relevant federal ministers to ascertain their commitment that there will be equity in the way in which the building revolution funding is delivered to urban, rural and remote schools.

They are not all the motions moved at the conference, but those listed are the great majority of motions moved. As I have said, I take my hat off the people from ICPA for their efforts in advancing the prospects of children in rural and remote areas.

Time expired.

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