Page 3482 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 19 September 1990
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we have an incredible shortage of money and the only way to save money in education is to close down their schools. At the same time as this Government is closing down the schools - in order to sell the land - it is giving land away to a private school in order to increase its ability to look after its students.
Nobody has a great deal of difficulty with the notion of a school being able to look after its students; but, to an ordinary person looking at this, it is quite clear that the Government cannot have it both ways - and that is the problem. When Mr Humphries says, "You look back over the years; people have been giving away land to private education for years and nobody has objected", that is quite true; but what we have now is a situation where the Government is saying, "We are forced to close down schools in order to have enough money to keep our education system running". That is what it is saying. So you cannot, at the same time as you are doing that, turn around and give away land in order to support other schools. That is the reality of what you are doing. That is how it is seen. The effect of it is to take away from the poor to give to the rich. That is the situation. There is no doubt that there are a number of exceptions to that notion of "rich" when one looks at it in terms of particular people, as Mr Humphries did.
Mr Jensen: Very subjective, Michael. Some people say you are rich.
MR MOORE: I have certainly heard you say it - just yesterday - Mr Jensen. So what we have in reality is a transfer of land from government schools to private schools, and that is how it will be perceived. That is the effect of what you are doing, and that is why it is so unacceptable to the community; but I do not expect that you will see that.
Mr Humphries suggests that, because half of the households with children in Canberra are sending kids to non-government schools, this little exercise on the part of the members of the Labor Party will cause the community to recognise them for what they are; and, since I concur with them on this particular thing, no doubt he feels that will have an effect on me as well. Well, that is just not the case, Mr Humphries. People I have talked to on the school closures issues have had their children in a wide range of schools, and in small Catholic schools in particular, and they do not see the handling of the school closures issue as reflecting any competence on the part of the Government. They are not convinced. All they get out of it is a notion of an incompetent Government and an incompetent Minister. That is what is happening here.
One of two things is the case. Either the Minister has this idea himself or he has been snowed by his department. Either way he comes out of it looking inadequate. Mr Humphries, I would suggest that you look very carefully at
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