Page 189 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 13 February 1991
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Applied to the Territory, it means that major changes in policy ought not to be announced unless the opinion of the Territory electorate in an election has been made clear.
Mr Jensen: Therefore Bob Hawke did not have a mandate to send the troops to the Gulf?
MR CONNOLLY: I hear an interjection from Mr Jensen relating to issues of foreign policy. That principle of a mandate obviously cannot account for unforeseen statements, but it certainly applies to a policy of a party that goes to the community as a community-based party and says:
The Rally remains committed to the idea of neighbourhood schools. The Rally believes that no school in the ACT should close until all alternatives have been considered and the school community, students, parents and teachers -
that group, I presume, falls within the category of ratbags referred to by the Acting Minister for Education -
have had an opportunity to discuss the proposal and make recommendations on future ramifications.
Well, I suppose, as that policy is applied, it means that we will not close schools until that group, the ratbags, have had the opportunity to express their views at a picket line; then we will arrest a few of them and close the school anyway. Mr Speaker, that was the policy on which the Residents Rally went to this Territory and they were successful in having four members elected. One member still maintains that policy and has left the Rally. The policy of the Labor Party, of course, was clear - not to close schools.
Mr Collaery: Nonsense! You had the same policy as us. I will read it out in a minute.
MR CONNOLLY: We were successful in obtaining Follett policy.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Collaery, you will have your turn.
MR CONNOLLY: Mr Collaery suggested that Labor had the same policy as the Rally. As I have said, and we have said it repeatedly on this side, it is not the Rally policy that we are concerned about; it is quite a good policy. It is the abandonment of the policy when in government that we are concerned about. It is not only we who are concerned about it. We have made a commitment to reopen the schools you have closed should the community want it and we will not close a school in the period of a parliament. That is the position that has been made clear by Ms Follett; it has been made clear by Mr Wood.
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