Page 777 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 March 1991
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MR SPEAKER: Thank you, Chief Minister. Mr Moore, please proceed.
MR MOORE: Thank you, Mr Speaker. As you will have noted, I had intended to ignore that aside in my speech in the same way as I have been ignoring Mr Duby's ridiculous interjections.
The reality of the situation is that this Alliance Government has made a decision to fiddle with the design of our neighbourhoods by closing neighbourhood schools. And in doing so they have significantly reduced the safety of our children, specifically children of eight years and below. That being the case, they then set about trying to use a second-rate measure - second-rate compared to the whole design of having the school as an integral part of the suburb - of introducing safety measures for crossing roads. Now, that is certainly better - - -
Mr Duby: We are putting safety measures into place where there were no safety measures before. For goodness sake, you cannot have your cake and eat it.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Duby, please!
MR MOORE: Mr Duby interjects again, Mr Speaker. He says that they put safety measures in where they did not have any safety measures before. Of course, they have had to put safety measures in where they did not have any safety measures before, because they have been closing schools and they have been planning to close schools. In some cases, of course, they realised that they were going to have to put some safety measures in certain areas and they have added those. Congratulations on that, Mr Duby - on those particular ones.
If we have to introduce safety measures, then this is a very good way to do it. I think there should be some more concrete islands where these measures are taken. If you check with your department to find out whether, if they had the money available, they would be prepared to do that, I am sure you would find that that would be the case. However, the reality is, as Mr Duby said, that unfortunately at some stage some young child, in attempting to cross these roads while moving away from their neighbourhood to a school in an accompanying neighbourhood, will have an accident. When that happens, I will not hesitate to point the finger at this Alliance Government and say, "You are responsible for doing that", because they were aware when they took this decision about the risks to the safety of the children. They have taken their decision, and they are going to have to wear it and live with it when that happens, because it is only a matter of time before it does.
MR SPEAKER: It appears that the discussion of the matter of public importance has concluded.
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