Page 948 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 27 March 1990
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I was very distressed to hear Mr Moore criticise the philosophical underpinnings of the culture of service working party. I think that is extremely regrettable. The fact is that the culture of service working party is dominated by people from the department, but I have never before heard him criticise the idea of public servants employed by the Territory being involved in the process of policy formulation and development and acting as stimulants to better understanding in debate of these important issues. That is, in part, their job and I think that any suggestion that they should not be doing that, or that the issue should be left entirely to debate at the schools level is very unhelpful and unfortunate.
I think we should encourage development of issues of this kind; I fully support the concept of the culture of service. I think that it reinforces very much the idea - and this is not an idea just developed by this Government; it was under the carriage of the previous Government and the Commonwealth Government before it - that culture of service develops the concept that students and parents within the system are beneficiaries of that system. They deserve consideration as clients or beneficiaries of that system, but people within the system have not only rights but also responsibilities. I am talking here particularly of servants of the education system such as administrators, teachers and bureaucrats. That kind of attitude towards education is not unhelpful. It is, I think, a valuable development and I support it.
I also note that Mr Moore's criticisms strangely seem to have emerged after the change of government in the ACT and that when this was an issue under the Commonwealth Government and later under the Follett Government there seemed to be no criticism on Mr Moore's part. This is the first time I have ever heard Mr Moore criticise.
Mr Moore: Rubbish! I criticised them on several occasions.
MR HUMPHRIES: Well, this is the first time I have heard him criticise.
Mr Moore: On a point of order, Mr Speaker, that is an imputation. It implies that I never make these criticisms of a Labor government. In fact that is not the case. I did criticise this very point, as you will find if you read Hansard.
MR SPEAKER: Objection overruled. Please proceed, Mr Humphries.
MR HUMPHRIES: I have no recollection of any criticism by Mr Moore and I would be grateful if he drew my attention to the particular part of Hansard where he made that criticism. The fact is that culture of service is a very valuable contribution to the overall scene in education in the ACT and I support it.
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