Mr BARRETT - 2014-05-08
This morning you made an important announcement about how Budget 2014-15 will support distance education in the Northern Territory. Can you please update the House on how the Country Liberals government is acting in this area, not simply talking?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Blain, who shows an interest in education no matter where students live in the Northern Territory. The new NTOEC will be constructed at Darwin High School. It has been a vision of this government, unlike the previous government which may have had a vision but never backed it up after years of talking about it, much like everything else it does.
Unlike Labor, we are building it. There is money in this year’s budget: $11.6m for construction and a further $3m for fit out, taking the total spend to almost $15m.
Proud to partner with INPEX, there is $3m towards the construction. INPEX has keen interest in supporting education in the Territory. It has also helped with Larrakia Trade Training Centre and Charles Darwin University’s Northern Australian Centre for Oil and Gas, great partners of this government.
NTOEC will be co-located at a full service senior school for the first time, offering improved capacity and diversity of service, educating more kids with more subjects. For the first time it will be an integrated system between a high school and the NTOEC.
The facilities will be world-class. A working group will study Australia’s best practice in learning, which fits well with building the Territory as an international hub for education and training. There will also be a push for northern Australian development, which will strengthen our links with Asia. Last year I had the opportunity to visit Timor-Leste. The Education department in Timor-Leste is interested in our NTOEC and how we in the Territory could help students in Timor-Leste, like how we can help students across the Northern Territory. Unlike the members opposite, who want to rubbish education in the Northern Territory continually, we are getting on and educating children. For the first time we are performing miracles and moving mountains in education to change the direction and get it away from the illusions of members of the former Labor government, where they think they were making a difference in education.
The Opposition Leader, Delia Lawrie told Mix 104.9 presenter, Pete Davies, that hundreds of kids graduated in their own communities at Year 12 because of Labor’s policies. What rot! There were eight last year under your model, out of a possible 500. This is a success according to you.
The other week in Canberra, having the opportunity to speak about the Indigenous Education Review with my colleagues interstate, including Labor ministers, they were amazed. I wish these guys could get on board.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Blain, who shows an interest in education no matter where students live in the Northern Territory. The new NTOEC will be constructed at Darwin High School. It has been a vision of this government, unlike the previous government which may have had a vision but never backed it up after years of talking about it, much like everything else it does.
Unlike Labor, we are building it. There is money in this year’s budget: $11.6m for construction and a further $3m for fit out, taking the total spend to almost $15m.
Proud to partner with INPEX, there is $3m towards the construction. INPEX has keen interest in supporting education in the Territory. It has also helped with Larrakia Trade Training Centre and Charles Darwin University’s Northern Australian Centre for Oil and Gas, great partners of this government.
NTOEC will be co-located at a full service senior school for the first time, offering improved capacity and diversity of service, educating more kids with more subjects. For the first time it will be an integrated system between a high school and the NTOEC.
The facilities will be world-class. A working group will study Australia’s best practice in learning, which fits well with building the Territory as an international hub for education and training. There will also be a push for northern Australian development, which will strengthen our links with Asia. Last year I had the opportunity to visit Timor-Leste. The Education department in Timor-Leste is interested in our NTOEC and how we in the Territory could help students in Timor-Leste, like how we can help students across the Northern Territory. Unlike the members opposite, who want to rubbish education in the Northern Territory continually, we are getting on and educating children. For the first time we are performing miracles and moving mountains in education to change the direction and get it away from the illusions of members of the former Labor government, where they think they were making a difference in education.
The Opposition Leader, Delia Lawrie told Mix 104.9 presenter, Pete Davies, that hundreds of kids graduated in their own communities at Year 12 because of Labor’s policies. What rot! There were eight last year under your model, out of a possible 500. This is a success according to you.
The other week in Canberra, having the opportunity to speak about the Indigenous Education Review with my colleagues interstate, including Labor ministers, they were amazed. I wish these guys could get on board.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016