Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This morning I rise to talk about a very important issue to a small local school in my electorate, which is the Norton Summit Primary School. It is having extreme difficulties with getting the federal government to understand the need for some reconsideration of the out-of-school-hours care program which was defunded some time ago because of an appalling bureaucratic classification decision. The bureaucrats have decided from lines on maps to put Norton Summit in with the Adelaide metropolitan zone for the purpose of considering funding for the out-of-school-hours care program. What they failed to recognise on their maps is that there is a cliff between Norton Summit and the city. It is not part of the city; it is quite clearly a part of the Adelaide Hills community and has been unfairly treated in that respect.

Today I will be tabling a petition before the Petitions Committee from concerned parents and residents of Norton Summit about this issue. For a school where there are fewer than 100 kids attending we have a petition with over 500 signatures from the local community. I think that indicates the level of unhappiness and anger that is in the local community about this very important issue. I have written to Minister Ellis, the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare and Youth about this issue, as she is the responsible minister. I have had some conversations with her in relation to it. She wrote back last week, responding to a letter sent in March on this issue, saying she has now contacted the Assistant Treasurer to ask him to get the ABS to reconsider the classification of this school so that they can again potentially have the out-of-hours school care program. I have also written to the Assistant Treasurer asking he give consideration as well. A bureaucratic decision has been made simply based on lines on maps. It has failed to take into consideration the genuine needs of a small school community.

I have many very small schools in the Adelaide Hills. Unfortunately, it is the desire of the Rann state Labor government to get rid of these schools and to make so-called megaschools which do not suit the community. They are small schools and schools of choice for people in these communities. This is another decision along the way to make it more difficult for these small popular local schools—whether it be Norton Summit or Basket Range or Eastern Fleurieu—that the state Rann Labor government is so desperately trying to get rid of by stealth and, unfortunately, this decision by federal bureaucrats is making it harder as well. I urge the Rudd Labor government to reconsider this decision and give Norton Summit School the out-of-hours care it so deserves.