Legislative Council Hansard

Tuesday 17 April 2007

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT - SALE OF BUILDINGS

[2.55 p.m.]

Mr FINCH (Question) - Mr President, can the Treasurer give any indication of how the proceeds from the sale of the two buildings occupied by the Education department bureaucrats - the head office in Bathurst Street, Hobart, and Highfield House - will be spent to improve education for Tasmanian students?

Mr AIRD - I thank the honourable member for his question. Obviously, it is a significant decision by the Education department to release these properties for sale and there are going to be dividends in terms of the Education budget. I am not in the habit of wanting to penalise agencies where they are making a significant contribution by their own volition to achieve greater efficiencies and a reprioritisation of their resources. However, having said that, there is a process to go through in terms of allocation of the funds; you have to go through the process of divestment, you have to see what the return is on that divestment and then see the best way of reallocating that money.

As far as I am concerned, Mr President, the agency itself has identified the buildings and, as I indicated, I would expect them to benefit from the proceeds of that sale.