Page 2288 - Week 08 - Thursday, 7 June 1990
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documentation only in the last week, although we already knew about it - and if a much lower scale of cuts had been proposed there, there would have been the most comprehensive surveys to see what the impact would be. The New South Wales Education Department would not just change numbers and adjust afterwards; it would survey beforehand so it knew the outcomes, the options which might present themselves, and the best way to go. But we do not have any evidence of that here.
I believe we have very competent people in our Education Department who could do that, but they have not been asked to. Again, in any other system there would be a careful examination of costs. It would not be simply a matter of saying, "This is what we think we will save". It would be detailed with all the offsetting costs also indicated. But only grudgingly is this Minister beginning to go down that path and then only because very competent people in the outside community are starting to draw his attention to these matters.
Since this is such a massive change - 25 out of something like 110 or 120 schools, or about one-fifth - one would think that there would be the most careful survey of the social impact on families, on children and on communities, but there is no suggestion of that. This is normal planning that ought to be done, considering the impact of the Government's measures.
Another area that should be explored is that of the educational outcomes. The criteria that were drawn up - and maybe they will change - paid no respect to educational outcomes at all. So we can see that there has been an absolute lack of the planning measures necessary to meet what the Government is doing. It is no wonder that I have no confidence in this Government and that the community at large has no confidence.
Mr Humphries and his colleagues are moving altogether too slowly to accommodate the demands from the community that this matter be explored in a proper way. We are dealing with the education of our children. It is no small matter and should not be treated in the entirely inadequate way that this Minister and this Government are proposing. Their planning is entirely incompetent. It is no wonder that they have not got the confidence of anybody at all in the community.
MR STEFANIAK (2.43): It is a shame Dennis Stevenson is not here because I do not want to dwell very long on the points he raised. We had most of that debate effectively last Tuesday night. I just remind Dennis Stevenson of the obvious numbers in this Assembly in favour of not banning X-rated videos - nine to eight. I would also remind him of my words in relation to the rat plague, as an illustration of why the Liberal Party voted for this series of Bills which came forward on Tuesday night. What Mr Stevenson is proposing in relation to his supposed constituency in this
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