Motion · 11 June 2026
Minister for education and early childhood and minister for homes, homelessness and new suburbs: Resolution of censure
In short
- Proposed
- Mark Parton and Jo Clay brought this motion together (co-sponsored) on 11 June 2026.
- Changed
- No changes were proposed.
- Decided
- Agreed, in a recorded vote of 12 to 10.
Read the original wording (370 words)
That this Assembly: (1) notes: (a) the release of the independent ACT Public School System Resourcing Review which has revealed a series of deep and systemic failures within the ACT education system, including: (i) a system plagued by confusion, inconsistency and poor communication; (ii) a growing administrative burden pulling teachers away from classrooms; (iii) a central office growing faster than schools themselves; (iv) inequality between schools, with some able to offer enrichment programs, while others struggle to maintain basic staffing; (v) rising occupational safety concerns; and (vi) inadequate provision for supports for students with disabilities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students; (b) that despite repeated warning from teachers, learning support assistants, principals, students and parents, the Minister for Education and Early Childhood repeatedly claimed the system was performing strongly and dismissed calls for reform for years; (c) that the Education Directorate’s minimal engagement with the substance of the Australian Education Union enterprise bargaining claims for educators and learning support assistants has driven public school workers to strike for the first time in 14 years; and (d) the following reports into Housing ACT’s programs: (i) the July 2023 and March 2026 Ombudsman reports which found Housing ACT did not properly support vulnerable tenants on their Growing and Renewing Public Housing Program, failed to meet its legal obligations as a landlord and detailed serious safety and maintenance concerns; (ii) the May 2024 and April 2025 Auditor-General reports into the Growing and Renewing Public Housing Program which found that Housing ACT had failed to manage risks to tenant wellbeing and failed to manage probity risks; (iii) the January 2026 Supreme Court finding which found the Commissioner for Social Housing breached tenants’ human rights in the Growing and Renewing Public Housing Program; and (iv) evidence presented to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and Administration which showed Housing ACT had not properly maintained or managed Specialist Disability Accommodation properties; (2) recognises the role that the Assembly plays in holding the Government to account, particularly in the context of the Westminster conventions on ministerial accountability in our system of responsible government; and (3) censures Minister Yvette Berry for the ACT Government’s performance in the critical areas of education and housing. Debate ensued.
- What the Assembly decidedAgreed
Recorded vote on the final question
Ayes 12
- Chiaka Barry, Elizabeth Lee, Peter Cain, James Milligan, Mark Parton, Ed Cocks, Jeremy Hanson
- Fiona Carrick, Thomas Emerson
- Laura Nuttall, Jo Clay, Rebecca Vassarotti
Noes 10
- Andrew Barr, Rachel Stephen-Smith, Yvette Berry, Caitlin Tough, Taimus Werner-Gibbings, Tara Cheyne, Suzanne Orr, Marisa Paterson, Michael Pettersson
- Leanne Castley
Other recorded votes in this debate
(question put)
Ayes 12
- Chiaka Barry, Elizabeth Lee, Peter Cain, James Milligan, Mark Parton, Ed Cocks, Jeremy Hanson
- Fiona Carrick, Thomas Emerson
- Laura Nuttall, Jo Clay, Rebecca Vassarotti
Noes 10
- Andrew Barr, Rachel Stephen-Smith, Yvette Berry, Caitlin Tough, Taimus Werner-Gibbings, Tara Cheyne, Suzanne Orr, Marisa Paterson, Michael Pettersson
- Leanne Castley
Check the official record
- Minutes of Proceedings No 63, 11 June 2026, item 4
Find these on the Assembly’s chamber documents page. Wording is quoted from the Minutes, © ACT Legislative Assembly, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Our reading is automatic and may contain errors; agreeing to a motion is not the same as doing what it asks. Report a problem