“School infrastructure, and providing enough new school capacity to meet growing student numbers, has been a top concern for ACT public school parents for some time,” says Alison Elliott, Council President.

“We are pleased to see key parts of the city - inner south, inner north, central Woden, Molonglo, West Belconnen and central Belconnen -  identified for forward planning for schools. A combination of new schools and well-planned school expansions - where the school communities are consulted – are needed to meet the need of families.”

 “Parents are still deeply concerned about capacity for college students in Gungahlin.”

“Parents will also be relieved to see money provided for removal of Hazardous materials - as promised in the run up to the ACT election. This is a good start to dealing with hazardous materials in public schools.  Hopefully this funding also supports long-term planning of remediation and removal which particularly affects our older schools. We look forward to future budgets continuing this work.”

“We hope that the funding ear marked for school infrastructure and maintenance upgrade will help create not just safe, accessible and comfortable learning spaces for our students, but inspiring, modern, welcoming places – spaces where students can shine.”

“Money spent on school infrastructure is an investment in the ACT’s future - it will pay off with happy, focused and engaged learners.”

Released October 8, 2021