22 Aug 2002 Legislative Assembly 3105 THURSDAY, 22 AUGUST 2002 Mr SPEAKER (Hon. R. K. Hollis, Redcliffe) read prayers and took the chair at 9.30 a.m. MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Childers Palace Memorial Building Hon. P. D. BEATTIE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (Premier and Minister for Trade) (9.31 a.m.), by leave: I refer to the opening of the Childers Palace Memorial Building on Saturday, 26 October 2002. It will be a permanent and fitting memorial to the 15 young people who lost their lives on 23 June 2000, when the Palace Backpacker Hostel in Childers was destroyed by fire. My government has worked alongside the Isis Shire Council in rebuilding the community of Childers and offering support and assistance to those whose lives have been forever altered by these events. Immediately after the fire, we offered support to families of the backpackers by providing domestic airfares and accommodation to allow them to visit Childers and attend memorial services. We were able to help more than a dozen relatives from a variety of countries with transport and/or accommodation at a cost of nearly $17,000. I am pleased to advise that for the opening of the Childers Memorial Building, the Isis Shire Council and the state government will again provide assistance for those family members who wish to attend. Between us, we will provide accommodation in Brisbane and Childers, bus travel from Brisbane to Childers and liaison officers in Brisbane and Childers to smooth their visit. I congratulate and thank the council for its generous actions. It is expected that the opening will be attended by representatives of 12 of the 15 families. Staff from my department are also responsible for coordinating the involvement of numerous other departments, such as Queensland Police Service, Queensland Health, Queensland Ambulance Service and Queensland Fire and Rescue to ensure that the privacy of family members and the dignity of the occasion are maintained. I personally visited Childers last month to inspect the progress of works at the site. It is going well. Following extensive community consultation, it was decided to restore the Palace Hotel to its former state and that the entire top floor would be given over to a memorial for those who perished in the tragedy, and an art gallery. The next stage of work at the site will see the construction of a new hostel for backpackers on land at the rear of the Palace Memorial Building. I will officially open the Childers Memorial Building on 26 October. The Queensland government contributed $340,000 to the redevelopment of the site, $25,000 towards the Memorial Wall to honour those who died in the fire, and $40,000 for memorial artwork—a total of $405,000. The memorial, which will be unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister, John Anderson, is an enormous glass sculpture that covers an entire wall and bears the images of the 15 people who lost their lives. A mural commemorating them will be unveiled by a representative of the families. Unfortunately, only about 100 people are able to be present for the unveiling of this memorial due to the size of the room in which it is housed. As one can imagine, there are a lot of people from the community who played a very active role in the days and months following the fire who would like to witness the unveiling. I am happy to advise that the Queensland government will provide an eight by six metre daytime outdoor screen so that the proceedings can be televised live to the public. The state government will contribute up to $17,100 to pay for the screen and the cost of two nights' accommodation in Childers for the families. The way in which the Childers community united following the fire, their initiative in erecting the Palace Memorial Building and the commissioning of a memorial to those lost in the tragedy are actions to be commended. I am proud that my government has been able to be of assistance in supporting the Childers community and the families of the deceased throughout these difficult times. As I have previously reported, when I was in London in 2000, I took the opportunity to meet some family members of those lost in the fire. I thank Local Government Minister, Nita Cunningham, for her contribution to enabling the work on the building to go ahead and for her personal involvement in it. I also thank the local member of parliament, Trevor Strong, for his involvement and representation and for keeping me 3106 Ministerial Statement 22 Aug 2002 informed of progress. In addition, I thank the Isis Mayor, Bill Trevor, who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and compassion ever since the tragedy. I again congratulate him for everything that he has done. I have sent him a letter on behalf of all Queenslanders stating that the way in which the community of Childers united following the fire and the initiative of constructing and commissioning the Palace Memorial Building are actions to be commended. MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Education and Training Hon. P. D. BEATTIE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (Premier and Minister for Trade) (9.36 a.m.), by leave: Developing Queensland as a Smart State is one of my government's key priorities and I want to ensure that that continues to be the case. In order to be the Smart State, we must have a well-educated, skilled and adaptable population. I have always insisted that education and training are the keys to enabling all Queensland youngsters to have an opportunity to reach their full potential. That is why we will spend a quarter of our budget on education. Later today, I will be hosting—along with the Education Minister, Anna Bligh, and other key ministers including the Minister for Employment, Training and Youth, Matt Foley—a reception for some of Queensland's leading educators to thank them for the contribution they are making to our Smart State vision. I take the opportunity to update the House on our plans to reform education and give Queensland children, regardless of where they live, the very best education. We know that the world is changing and that we are developing into a more knowledge-based society where learning is a life-long endeavour, not something that finishes when we take off the school uniform for the last time. In order to prepare our children for these changes, we need to create pathways for students, pathways to the education which suits them best and pathways which will equip them with the general and technical skills and knowledge to be competitive in the 21st century. Last week, Anna Bligh and Matt Foley released on behalf of the state government two external reports by Professors John Pitman and Margaret Gardner, focusing on more flexible senior schooling options and better links between school, further study and work. Professor Pitman suggests in his report entitled 'The School Certificate—A New Deal' that the senior certificate should be more achievement based than time driven, and that learning from work, TAFE and the community should be counted towards obtaining that qualification. He also suggests that there should be more flexibility to enable students to complete the senior certificate in different environments such as TAFE and the workplace. Professor Margaret Gardner reviewed pathways for students to further education, training and work once compulsory schooling has been completed and in their post-school years. She has recommended that post-school studies become more flexible and that schools, vocational trainers and universities give greater recognition to the courses and qualifications which are offered by each institution. The Pitman and Gardner reports will be considered along with community feedback on the discussion paper 'Queensland the Smart State: Education and Training Reforms for the Future'. That paper, which we released in March, proposes that young people should be learning full-time until they turn 16 or 17 and that if they are not they should be in full-time work. It also advocates a trial of a full-time preparatory year for children before they enter year one. Next year a total of 39 schools in the state, Catholic and independent sectors will take part in such a trial. The package also recommends greater long-term investment in information and communication technologies. We have also set new goals for education, training and employment through Queensland State Education 2010 and through our vocational education and training strategy, Skilling Queensland 2001-2004. This year's state budget provides for a $158 million investment over four years in new and replacement computers, IT training for teachers, and measures to improve secondary school retention rates. We have also set aside $151 million to improve student literacy standards. All of these measures show that we are serious about our commitment to education and equipping Queenslanders with the knowledge and technical skills which a Smart State needs. I seek to incorporate some additional remarks into Hansard for the information of all members. Leave granted. 22 Aug 2002 Ministerial Statement 3107 EDUCATION RECEPTION TALKING POINTS Educating children for their futures is one of my government's greatest priorities. To transform Queensland into the Smart State and ensure we have a prosperous and growing future, we have to make an ongoing commitment to the excellence of that education. Every child, no matter where he or she lives in Queensland, must have the very best possible education to reach his or her full potential. We're developing into a more knowledge-based society and we need to prepare our children for those changes. Every educator in Queensland has a role to play in this regardless of where they work in the education and training system.