4513 PROOF LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS No. 133 THURSDAY 3 DECEMBER 2009 (The Questions and Answers Paper published for the first sitting day in each week will contain, by number and title, all unanswered questions, together with questions to which answers have been received on the previous sitting and any new questions. On subsequent days, new questions are printed, as are questions to which answers were received the previous day. Consequently the full text of any question will be printed only twice: when notice is given; and, when answered.) Notice given on date shown Produced by Altsoft Xml2PDF 4514 Legislative Council Questions and Answers No. 133— Thursday 3 December 2009 Publication of Questions Answer to be lodged by Q & A No. 124 (Including Question Nos 3787 to 3802) 03 December 2009 Q & A No. 125 (Including Question Nos 3803 to 3816) 15 December 2009 Q & A No. 126 (Including Question Nos 3817 to 3838) 16 December 2009 Q & A No. 127 (Including Question Nos 3839 to 3855) 17 December 2009 Q & A No. 128 (Including Question Nos 3856 to 3868) 29 December 2009 Q & A No. 129 (Including Question Nos 3869 to 3876) 30 December 2009 Q & A No. 130 (Including Question Nos 3877 to 3888) 31 December 2009 Q & A No. 131 (Including Question Nos 3889 to 3920) 05 January 2010 Q & A No. 132 (Including Question Nos 3921 to 3961) 06 January 2010 Q & A No. 133 (Including Question Nos 3962 to 3986) 07 January 2010 Produced by Altsoft Xml2PDF 4515 Legislative Council Questions and Answers No. 133— Thursday 3 December 2009 29 OCTOBER 2009 (Paper No. 124) *3787 PLANNING—PLANNING NSW'S WEBSITE—Ms Hale asked the Minister for Lands representing the Minister for Planning, and Minister for Redfern Waterloo— (1) Is the Minister in receipt of an email addressed to [email protected], dated 28 October 2009, which raises concerns about the navigation of the http:⁄⁄www.planning.nsw.gov.au website? (2) In view of public interest in the processes surrounding the approval of Part 3A major projects, what measures will be taken to ensure that all information on the Department's website is able to be readily accessed by members of the public, many of whom are unfamiliar with or inexpert in web navigation? Answer— (1) The Department of Planning has informed me it received an email at approximately 6pm on 28 October 2009 complaining about the navigation in the development assessment section of its website. (2) The Department of Planning is always looking for ways to improve communication channels and it is committed to ensuring public access to information. On 29 October 2009, the complaint was forwarded to the Department's Community and Stakeholder Engagement Branch which asked the Department's web team to review the relevant part of the website to improve the navigation for users. The review agreed with the complainant that the development assessment section of the site required too many clicks for users to view projects on exhibition. As a result, the Department changed the site structure, so users can more easily locate the projects on exhibition. For instance, the Part 3A major projects on exhibition are now located just two clicks away from the Department's homepage. The new site navigation was implemented on 3 November 2009. On 3 November 2009, the Department emailed the complainant to thank him for his feedback and inform him of the changes to the website structure. *3791 EDUCATION AND TRAINING—LACHLAN MACQUARIE COLLEGE - TRAVELLING TIMES—Dr Kaye asked the Attorney General, Minister for Industrial Relations, and Vice President of the Executive Council representing the Minister for Education and Training— (1) What amount of time do students and teachers spend travelling to and from Lachlan Macquarie College to participate in strands? (2) Please provide all details available. Answer— (1) Lachlan Macquarie College programs have been held at a range of sites based in the local Parramatta area including secondary and primary schools and the University of Western Sydney campus. The majority of students participating in these programs attend local Parramatta schools, requiring minimal travel time. The majority of teachers participating in these programs work at local Parramatta schools. Their travel time to the programs is minimal. The Discover Science Program, involving 12 students and six teachers, was conducted at the University of Western Sydney Campus at Hawkesbury. Travel to this campus by train from Parramatta station takes 50 minutes, followed by a five minute drive. Some of the programs offered are delivered using video conferencing, allowing students and teachers to remain at their own school. (2) Records of student and teacher travel times are not available. *3792 EDUCATION AND TRAINING—LACHLAN MACQUARIE COLLEGE - MODEL—Dr Kaye asked the Attorney General, Minister for Industrial Relations, and Vice President of the Executive Council representing the Minister for Education and Training— Produced by Altsoft Xml2PDF 4516 Legislative Council Questions and Answers No. 133— Thursday 3 December 2009 (1) In establishing Lachlan Macquarie College, what international or interstate evidence was used to design the model? (2) How does this evidence show that this model would be successful? Answer— (1) The planning of Lachlan Macquarie College was informed by exemplary local, national and international models and a range of current research in the areas of mathematics and science teaching and learning with the specific needs of students across Western Sydney underpinning all considerations National models included e2 at Orange, the Australian Science and Mathematics school in Adelaide and the Science Centres of Innovation and Professional Practice in Queensland. International models included several specialist science colleges in the United Kingdom, including Acle High School and Stroud High School. (2) The Lachlan Macquarie College model of operation is based on extension and enrichment programs in mathematics and science for students and mentoring for teachers in the delivery of mathematics and science. It uses innovative strategies and specialist equipment made available through the partnership with the University of Western Sydney. The success of the program will be measured in terms of enhanced student outcomes and engagement of students in higher levels of study in mathematics and science over the next few years. Initial feedback indicates that the programs are impacting positively on students and teachers. *3793 EDUCATION AND TRAINING—LACHLAN MACQUARIE COLLEGE - STRANDS—Dr Kaye asked the Attorney General, Minister for Industrial Relations, and Vice President of the Executive Council representing the Minister for Education and Training— (1) Will each of the strands at Lachlan Macquarie College offered in 2009 be offered again in 2010? (2) Will there be any new strands? (3) Are there any plans to increase the number of strands or the number of teachers and students using Lachlan Macquarie College? Answer— (1) Yes (2) The third strand Applied Mathematics and Science will commence. (3) There are no plans to increase the number of strands available. Lachlan Macquarie College plans to increase the number of teachers accessing educational programs within the strands. *3794 EDUCATION AND TRAINING—LACHLAN MACQUARIE COLLEGE - COSTS—Dr Kaye asked the Attorney General, Minister for Industrial Relations, and Vice President of the Executive Council representing the Minister for Education and Training— (1) What is the total cost of operating Lachlan Macquarie College in 2009? (2) Please provide a list of the positions at Lachlan Macquarie College in 2009. Answer— (1) The salary of the staff members at Deputy Principal and Head Teacher level inclusive of on costs is $145,110 and $124,283; respectively. The operational expenditure in 2009 was $20,500. (2) Two teaching staff members were appointed in 2008 and continued in 2009, one at Deputy Principal and the other at Head Teacher level. *3795 EDUCATION AND TRAINING—LACHLAN MACQUARIE COLLEGE - EFFECTIVENESS OF STRANDS—Dr Kaye asked the Attorney General, Minister for Industrial Relations, and Vice President of the Executive Council representing the Minister for Education and Training— (1) For each of the strands offered by Lachlan Macquarie College in 2009, what steps have been taken to assess the effectiveness of the strands? (2) Please provide a summary of the results of these assessments. Answer— Produced by Altsoft Xml2PDF 4517 Legislative Council Questions and Answers No. 133— Thursday 3 December 2009 (1) Programs are quantitatively evaluated on a two year cycle. Qualitative and anecdotal information is collected from all programs to assess effectiveness and provide feedback. (2) Student and teacher feedback from events conducted in 2008 and 2009 has been very positive. Evaluation of the 2008 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer Team Challenge is indicative of the positive feedback received. Of the 39 participants from four schools, 93 per cent stated that it would be of great benefit to Year 12 chemistry students for Lachlan Macquarie College to conduct this activity each year. Eight-nine per cent of respondents also stated they would be interested in participating in other activities at the University of Western Sydney to help understanding of chemistry and other sciences in preparation for their Higher School Certificate. In 2009, 95 students from six schools participated in the event. *3796 EDUCATION AND TRAINING—LACHLAN MACQUARIE COLLEGE - ATTENDANCE—Dr Kaye asked the Attorney General, Minister for Industrial Relations, and Vice President of the Executive Council representing the Minister for Education and Training— (1) (a) What strands are offered by Lachlan Macquarie College in 2009? (b) For each of these strands, how many students and how many teachers have participated in that strand? (c) For each of these strands, from which schools have the students and teachers come from? Please specify the number of students and teachers from each school. Answer— (1) (a) Two strands were offered in 2009, Specialist Mathematics and Science and Mathematics and Science Teaching.