Air Conditioner prohibited in education revolution

The Rudd Government's plans to improve conditions in Australian schools doesn't appear to include much needed air conditioning units, Christopher Pyne, Shadow Minister for Education said today.

"Many schools in metropolitan areas have older air-conditioning units in existing buildings that need upgrading," said Mr Pyne. "Schools in remote areas, including in indigenous communities, have air conditioning units at the top of their wish lists," he said.

It is beyond belief that something so simple and necessary - something schools are indicating they actually need - is not an option on the table.

This goes directly to the Coalitions concerns with the education aspect of the stimulus package. This Government has a record of failing to deliver on its promises in education.

The Computers in Schools program which cost twice as much and is delivering half of what was promised, and the Trades Training Centres, supposedly one for every school, in reality is one for every ten schools.

The current stimulus package was conceived hastily, without due consideration and consultation, and it is overly prescriptive.

If the Government's purpose in delivering this program had anything to do with students' needs, then air conditioning would not be prohibited.

The former Government's very successful Investing in Our Schools program (which was cancelled by the Rudd Government) actually delivered money to what schools identified as their needs. Several schools in my electorate benefited from new air-conditioning under the Investing in Our Schools program, and why the Government won't use this money to restore Investing in Our Schools is beyond me.