Page 2728 - Week 09 - Thursday, 9 August 1990
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Throughout the last sittings of this Assembly - the first sittings since I became a member - when we all knew that school closures were on the horizon, Mr Humphries would say in answer to questions, "Oh, I'll tell you the figures when we've announced the closures", and he made a case that was at least logical. Mr Humphries said - and it would be difficult to fault him as a point of logic - "I can't tell you the figures until I know which schools are to close".
We were critical of that. We said, "If you are going to attack the community, if you are going to rip the heart out of communities and neighbourhoods by shutting the schools, if you are going to put children and their parents to extreme trauma, extreme discomfort, and disrupt their lives in a very fundamental way, you should at least have some targets". But Mr Humphries said, "I don't have to tell you about targets. I'll tell you the figures when I have made the decision as to which schools will close".
Mr Wood: There are a few quotes if you want them.
MR CONNOLLY: There are quite a few quotes. As Mr Wood has very assiduously gone through Hansard - - -
Mr Wood: No, I didn't have to be assiduous. They are pretty well everywhere.
MR CONNOLLY: That is true. Mr Wood would attack the task assiduously, but he did not have to do so. The statements are so easy to find that anyone can see them. That was the position at the close of the last sittings. We were told, "When we announce the schools, then we'll tell you what it costs". They have announced the closure of the schools, but they are not prepared to tell the Canberra community what it costs, and that is holding the community and this Assembly in contempt.
Mr Acting Speaker, I cannot think of any parliament in Australia in which a ministry would consistently refuse to justify the most important decision that it had taken. We were coming to the view, not unreasonably, that the Government simply did not have any figures, but that has been refuted today because the Minister clearly is quite proud to say that he has the figures but adds , "but I'm not going to tell you" - Sir Joh again, "Don't you worry about that. We'll tell you in the budget".
I heard Mr Jensen repeating that approach, "We don't have to tell you because it is a matter for the budget". That might have been an approach that you could try to flog in the community. The people would not believe you. They would throw it back in your face. They would say, "How dare you make this decision about our community? How dare you close our schools and affect our children without at least trying to justify it?".
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