Debate resumed from 16 August, on motion by Mr Pearce:

That this bill be now read a second time.

upon which Ms Macklin moved by way of amendment:

That all words after “That” be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: “whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:

(1)

condemns the Government for:

(a)

failing to deliver urgently needed funding for Indigenous students by insisting on complex and bureaucratic administrative arrangements that prevent many schools and communities from benefiting from education programs;

(b)

causing a $126 million underspend in Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives expenditure in 2004-05 through bureaucratic bungling;

(c)

imposing impenetrable red tape that has led to a decline in the involvement of Indigenous communities in the parent-school partnership initiative;

(d)

failing to provide sufficient resources for early intervention programs in schools to raise Indigenous children’s literacy standards;

(e)

reducing the number of Indigenous school children who access tutorial assistance by making eligibility requirements more restrictive and short-term; and

(f)

presiding over ten long years over continuing gaps in educational and training participation and performance between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students; and

(2)

calls on the Government to reform its funding criteria and guidelines so as to the address the above concerns and provide all Indigenous students with the opportunity to achieve quality schooling results”

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