Page 4378 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 21 November 1990
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MR HUMPHRIES: Well, with respect, no, I am sorry; I can certainly find references in Hansard to where Mr Wood has said that there would not be savings in the closure of schools.
Mr Wood: Well, you had better go and find them. You will not.
MR HUMPHRIES: I will do that, Mr Wood. In fact, Mr - - -
Mr Wood: I will send you that speech.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Wood! Mr Wood, please do not debate.
Mr Wood: That is what we are here for.
MR SPEAKER: When it is your turn, Mr Wood.
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Hudson also goes on to add in the capital costs of those sorts of schools and he says, in paragraph 2.10:
If these capital savings are annualised at the current long-term bond rate one begins to appreciate that the discrepancy between the average cost per student (capital and recurrent) between small (say 150-170) and medium-sized schools (say 400) is of the order of $1,500 per student p a.
That is a lot of money - money which, I argue, can well be spent with much greater efficacy and effect elsewhere in the education system.
I believe that our education system needs support. I believe that it needs money spent on it in a number of areas. I believe that we can do better in some of our ancillary programs and I would like to see some of the money that we save from these school closures put into those areas. I believe that it is possible, it is only possible, to find additional money for other more important areas of the educational system if we are able to bite the bullet and accept that some school closures make sense.
If the ALP wants to pick and choose its judges, or pick and choose within judgments, then it plays with fire. The reality is that we cannot, as a government, exercise the luxury of choosing only those pieces of information or evidence before us which happen to suit us. We need to look at the whole picture.
This debate was described by Mr Wood as a matter of great importance. He emphasised the importance of the debate. It obviously is not too important if only one member of his party can be present in the chamber when the matter is going on.
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