FED: Housing stimulus diverted to school halls

AAP General News (Australia)
08-28-2009
FED: Housing stimulus diverted to school halls

Primary schools are the big winners following a review of the federal government's
stimulus package .. but social housing and home energy efficiency programs will lose out.

Six months after the unveiling of Labor's 42 billion dollar nation building stimulus
package .. the commonwealth coordinator general has recommended one-and-a-half billion
dollars of savings be found.

The funding adjustments will be ploughed into the government's program for building
school infrastructure until mid-2011.

Education Minister JULIA GILLARD says the extra money for schools means more than two-thousand-700
primary schools will now receive four-point-six billion dollars to build better facilities.

These include art libraries .. multi-purpose halls and outdoor learning areas.

But Labor says a 750 million dollar funding reallocation will see 800 fewer social
homes built than originally envisaged.

AAP RTV saj/rl/it/wz/psm/

KEYWORD: STIMULUS (CANBERRA)

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