Page 1291 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 16 April 1991
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Mr Speaker, the Labor Opposition says that they will reopen these schools. I submit that this is a cynical and cruel promise, maintaining false hopes on the part of some parents which will simply not be realised. Labor will not reopen these schools, just as they did not and will not reopen those closed in 1988. They know that the community finances will not be available to allow them to do so. Those people at Lyons and Cook, in particular, who rely on Labor's promise are destined for disappointment. As to fast tracking, Mr Speaker, Mr Wood, at least, obviously believes that any implementation taking less than about five years, is, ipso facto, fast tracking. I do not accept that and neither does anybody else in this community.
MR CONNOLLY (4.27): Mr Speaker, the Opposition's attack in this matter of public importance is in relation to the fast tracking of the sell-off - the flogging of community assets - of the school sites. The Chief Minister in his peroration says that this is not fast tracking; that the Labor Party believes that anything that happens in less that five years is fast tracking.
Mr Kaine: That is what I said, and that is what I meant.
MR CONNOLLY: Well, three weeks ago term 1 finished and within three weeks they are trying to flog off the Lyons school. If that is not fast tracking, what is? The fact of the matter, Mr Speaker, is that this Government is terrified of the effect of the Labor promise on schools in the community. The Labor promise, made unequivocally by Labor leader Rosemary Follett, and repeated by members of this party, is that Labor will reopen neighbourhood schools provided the community wants that and provided the school sites are available for reopening.
The Government knows that it cannot match that promise in the community. No-one will believe them anyway. This is the Government that includes the Residents Rally - members of the party who said, "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, have had an opportunity to discuss the proposal and make recommendations on future ramifications". As the Rally members are so fond of pointing out, that policy is very similar to that of the Labor Party. The difference is that the Labor Party stuck to the policy and the Rally did not. There is nothing like a ministerial car to get between a politician and a policy. They were far keener to get into government and join the Liberal close-down agenda than stick to their policy.
They know that they cannot confront the community on a battle of policies. They know that they cannot go out there and honestly debate what their policy is, because the community will say, "Well, we do not care what you say your policy is; we have seen your practice. It is your practice we are worried about". So what they are trying to do is close this debate by ramming through the closure of the
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