New Schools for Palmerston

The Territory Opposition has welcomed Government plans to finally deliver two much needed and long promised schools in Palmerston.

"In fact I welcomed Labor's promise of a new primary school for Palmerston when it was first made in 2002,” says Terry Mills, Leader of the Opposition.

"Labor's promise of a primary school in Rosebery will be at least a decade old by the time the first students enter a classroom – should it manage to meet its latest timeline.

"Of course, Labor allocated $10 million dollars to a new high school in Palmerston in the 2003/04 budget and that is unfinished today. A repeat performance would mean the two schools in Rosebery won't open until 2013.

"The tragedy is that Labor's decade of delay in delivering its promise has been at the expense of the education of the children of Palmerston.

"Because of Labor's delay in delivering its long promised primary school, hundreds of kids at Palmerston have been forced to study in substandard portable classrooms, there has been nowhere to conduct small group classes and both a library and the school stage have been converted into classrooms.

"Overcrowded class rooms drag down the performance of the teachers and the students.

"I also note with amazement that Health Minister, Chris Burns, today announced the creation of a negotiating team for Darwin's Radiation Oncology Unit.

"Surely such a team has been in place all along or has the Minister just been talking out of his hat?

"Not only was an Oncology Unit first promised in 2001, but as late as October last year the Health Minister was promising it would be 'operational by 2009.'

"It seems to me that we are now further away from getting an Oncology Unit.

"Has Darwin's Oncology Unit become a victim of Rudd's razor gang in Canberra?”

2008-04-28