Page 1818 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 30 May 1990
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atmosphere - it is not fair to expect them to do so - and I call on Mr Humphries to withdraw his current proposal, to hold the debate and to listen to the people who know the most about this issue; namely, the community that we are all here to serve.
MR STEFANIAK (11.45): I have listened with interest to a number of comments made by the Opposition. As probably the only member of this Assembly who went through the state school system in this town, from preschool through to high school and then university, I will shortly make a few comments on some of the points that Ms Follett raised which were quite wrong.
However, I would first like to comment on a couple of points made by Mr Moore, who referred to this Government as an anti-social-justice team. What a lot of rubbish! For a start, I think the term "social justice" itself is indeed a Labor term and, if it means fairness and equity, then, yes, that is what this Government is all about - fairness and equity for all. In terms of education, this Government is trying to provide a workable, efficient system for the Australian Capital Territory community, a system that will create equity and fairness to all. I think Mr Moore is very far off the mark when he refers to this Government as an anti-social-justice government. What a lot of rubbish!
Ms Follett has talked about a system that we have become used to over the years here in Canberra. I have got a few little historical anecdotes in relation to that, Mr Speaker. When I went through infants school and primary school we did not have one school we could go to for each suburb. The primary school I went to had children from about four or five suburbs, and when I went to Narrabundah High School we had kids coming in from Curtin, Lyons and Deakin because there were no schools there, as well as children from Red Hill, Narrabundah and the Causeway.
Indeed, it is interesting to note that, when Deakin and Woden Valley High Schools were built, those students who had come in from Curtin, Lyons, Deakin and Hughes to Narrabundah continued to do so, even though there were schools closer to their area then. So to say that we have had neighbourhood schools both at primary level and certainly at high school level in the past is quite wrong.
Ms Maher went through a number of reasons for the closure of Canberra schools. I think, if members of the Opposition were being fair dinkum and not just relying on the luxury of being in opposition and having a good whinge here today, they would realise that if they were in government they would have to look seriously at school closures just as this Government and our Education Minister, Mr Humphries, are doing.
It is interesting to note that there are a number of advantages that the reshaping project team, which consulted with regional directors and also with primary principals of
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