ACT Parents, the peak body representing more than 60,000 ACT public school parents, has criticised the decision to hold an inquiry focused on a single school project, warning that it undermines fair and transparent planning across the public school system.
ACT Parents made a submission to the Inquiry into the Lyneham High School gym but were not invited to appear when the hearings start today.
"Every ACT public school student deserves safe, modern and fit-for-purpose facilities - not just those whose school communities can campaign the hardest," says Executive Officer Veronica Elliott.
"An inquiry into one project won't fix the broader problems. The Government needs to make infrastructure decisions based on equity and system-wide need."
ACT Parents urges the Government to ensure transparency and fairness in every project and calls on all MLAs to pledge to fix systemic problems in public education, rather than focus on single issues.
"Every ACT public school community deserves a fair system that funds upgrades based on genuine need," Ms Elliott says.
In its submission, ACT Parents called on the ACT Government to deliver a coordinated, needs-based infrastructure plan and to implement all outstanding recommendations from previous Assembly inquiries into school facilities.
"Too many of our schools are dealing with outdated and ageing facilities - from unsafe and unusable bathrooms to leaking roofs," Ms Elliott says.
"These conditions directly affect students' educational experience and increase maintenance costs for schools. They cannot be ignored."
These issues are not isolated - they are systemic.
"The Government must prioritise schools most in need, instead of responding to whichever petition makes headlines," Ms Elliott says.
"We cannot allow politics to decide which schools receive funding. Every student deserves a safe, modern learning environment - and right now there is inequity across the system that must be addressed."
Posted: 4 November 2025
