Page 187 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 13 February 1991
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MR CONNOLLY (11.17): Mr Speaker, I find it extraordinary that the Government does not see fit to try to defend its education policy. It is of particular interest that the Residents Rally does not even see fit to be in the chamber when education policy is being debated. Given the Residents Rally's appalling retreat and reversal from its own stated education policy, perhaps it is not surprising that they scuttle away. I wonder whether we are seeing today the start of the inevitable disintegration of this lot opposite when members of the Rally try to make themselves absent while unpalatable issues like education are being discussed. There is a range of other issues that they may well want to make themselves absent for and leave the defence of these indefensible policies to the Liberal Party and the no-party party. I notice that Mr Jensen is returning to his seat. I hope that he will learn something in the debate today and take a wiser course in future debates.
Mr Speaker, the issue before the Assembly is the administration of the education system, and Mr Wood has demonstrated the litany of failure there. At the State and Territory government level the two issues of real concern, the two really important responsibility issues that are placed upon government, are running the health system and running the education system, and on both of these issues that crucially affect all citizens this lot have made a botch of it. Rather than taking the administration of education as the highest responsibility of government and the future of the young people of the Territory as an important trust that is reposed in the Government for the short period that they are in office, this Government has chosen to attack the education system constantly, to administer the education system by way of trench warfare between the administration and the citizens.
All we seem to have seen over the past 12 months of Rally government is constant abuse of the citizens and constant attacks on the citizens, such as the extraordinary statement from Minister Duby, while he was acting in the education portfolio, dismissing the Lyons parents group as a bunch of ratbags. What an extraordinary proposition; a Minister simply heaping abuse on the constituency. Does this Government approach the administration of education in a cooperative manner, wanting to talk to the community, wanting to debate the issues? Not a bit of it. It has this sort of hairy-chested macho attack: Pour rubbish on anyone who opposes you; constantly attack the community; long-term confrontation.
The Government seems to think that there is some pride to be taken from this confrontationist approach. We have often heard rhetoric from Ministers opposite that the Government must govern and these community ratbags should go away. "We have a mandate to govern" is the approach that is being made. The Leader of the Opposition well laughs at that proposition because, of course, this Government, as we have repeatedly pointed out, has no
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