Page 4901 - Week 16 - Tuesday, 26 November 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
would have been a move from the Government to proceed today with an inquiry? Of course there would not. What we are seeing today is this Government responding under pressure to a move they should have made some months ago. They should have made this move, even before they made the decision in the budget to cut non-government school funding for those three schools by half a million dollars.
I want to put very clearly on the record, by way of a statement under standing order 46, the facts about what happened with respect to my consultation with the Government on this question. I went to see Ms Follett some eight weeks ago and I put to her the value of the Government initiating an inquiry into non-government education funding. I did not put it on the basis of "I have an idea that I want to move and I would like your support for it". I put it on the basis that there would be an inquiry initiated by the ALP Government as its way of dealing with the political issues that had arisen from this debate. That was the basis on which I put it to Ms Follett.
In response, Ms Follett, the Chief Minister, said that she would consider my idea. That was the response she gave. I was by myself at that meeting. I do not have any witnesses to what was said, but that is what was said. I left the meeting expecting to hear something back from the Government about the worthiness or otherwise of my proposal. Nothing transpired for some two or three weeks. I then spoke to members of the Government on the floor of this chamber in the last sitting period, and said: "Have you considered my request? What is your position?". The first time I asked that question, I was told, "We have not decided yet". The second time I asked, which was on the last sitting day of the last sitting period - - -
Mr Wood: When did you ask?
MR HUMPHRIES: You might not have been one of the people I asked, Mr Wood. I tend to ask the real decision makers in this Government - the two sitting in the front over here. I asked them, "What is the decision on the inquiry?". I was told, "We will not initiate an inquiry at this stage. We will leave that up to you. We will see what you do". That was on the last sitting day of the last period.
In this sitting period we have moved the motion. It is more or less the first opportunity we have had since the matter was last raised with the Government and the idea of an inquiry by the ALP Government was rejected. That is the situation. It is completely untrue to say that this matter has not been acted upon in 10 weeks. I put it to the Chief Minister eight weeks ago. I was expecting a response before now and I have not had the courtesy of receiving one - at least not until the end of the last sitting period.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .