Page 3641 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 16 October 1990
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I really do have to challenge the Opposition when they say that social problems have emerged from closing schools. Where is the evidence that there is any significant social problem in the suburbs of Bruce, Isaacs, Macarthur and McKellar, which have never had a primary school? If your argument is valid, there must be significant social problems in those suburbs. Put your money where your mouth is. Produce the evidence that there are social problems in those suburbs flowing from the fact that there are no public schools there. You cannot do it. It is absolute rubbish. There are no adverse social impacts in those suburbs and, if there are social impacts in those suburbs because there are no public schools there, put the evidence on the table. Put your money where your mouths are and stop mouthing all of this ideological garbage that you keep bringing up.
The bottom line, Mr Speaker, is that we have these great socialists on the other side of this house, great socialists who claim that they are working in the interests of the community. How can you justify leaving millions of dollars of public money tied up in unused school resources when there are people who are ageing, people who are disabled, people who are suffering from all kinds of disadvantage, crying out for money from the Government to assist them with their programs? What do you want to do? You want to leave it tied up in schools where it is unused and unrequired, because if we take it out we might inconvenience one or two people in the suburbs.
Where is your social conscience? Mr Connolly might like to answer that question. You tell the people from Koomarri who we cannot find jobs for that we should not take the money out of the public schools.
Mr Moore: There will be blood on your hands, Kaine.
MR KAINE: You are not going to do it.
Mr Duby: Mr Speaker, I would ask that that comment from Mr Moore be withdrawn. He said that the Chief Minister has blood on his hands.
Mr Moore: I did not say that, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Moore: I did not.
Mr Duby: You said, "You have blood on your hands, Mr Kaine", and I would ask you to withdraw it.
MR SPEAKER: I would ask you to withdraw it, if that is what you said, Mr Moore.
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