1. Home
  2. Hansard & Papers
  3. Legislative Assembly
  4. 28 March 2006
Contact Print this page Reduce font size Increase font size

Tamworth School Proposal

Printing Tips | Print selected text | Full Day Hansard Transcript         « Prior Item | Item 16 of 48 | Next Item »

About this Item
Subjects -  Schools; Teachers
Speakers - Speaker; Souris Mr George; Tebbutt Ms Carmel
Business - Questions Without Notice


    TAMWORTH SCHOOL PROPOSAL
Page: 21548


    Mr GEORGE SOURIS: My question is directed to the Minister for Education and Training. Given that the people of West Tamworth have been fighting during the whole period this Government has been in office to build a new public school on the Goonoo Goonoo Road site, and that the Opposition has raised this issue nine times in Parliament, will the Minister admit that the time for consultation is over and she must make a decision on this matter?

    Ms CARMEL TEBBUTT: Recently I had the opportunity to visit Tamworth with the honourable member for Tamworth and talk with a number of school principals, as well as visit Gunnedah and inspect the progress of the new hall. It is certainly the case that education provision in the Tamworth area has some challenges, and I think a range of views have been presented about the best way forward. The department has been working on a consultation paper that looks at the provision of education for all schools within the city of Tamworth, including West Tamworth. The paper has been developed by the department and is currently under consideration. When I visited Tamworth recently I gave the school principals a commitment that the consultation paper would be released as quickly as possible and that there would be broad consultation on the appropriate way forward, because some Tamworth schools are over capacity and some are under capacity.

    Mr Andrew Stoner: We know all that. Make a decision.

    Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of The Nationals will resume his seat. I call him to order.

    Ms CARMEL TEBBUTT: It is all very well for the Opposition to say, "Make a decision." Colourful rhetoric like that does not get us far. There needs to be a process that has the support of the broader community. It is all very well for Coalition members to visit Tamworth—as they did last year—and make all sorts of commitments to build super schools, but the reality is that those commitments will never come to anything; they are unfunded and are never grounded in proper community consultation.

    Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Minister will be heard in silence.

    Ms CARMEL TEBBUTT: Their commitments are made in order to get a run in the local media on the day of their visit, without ongoing follow-up.

    Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of The Nationals will cease calling out.

    Ms CARMEL TEBBUTT: I found my meeting in Tamworth with the school principals very productive. I look forward to the release of the consultation paper in the very near future and to hearing the views of the Tamworth community on how they want to progress with education provision and on some of the issues that impact on schools in that area.


Last modified 05/12/2007 16:31:20   :   Update this page