Page 5997 - Week 18 - Thursday, 12 December 1991
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Ainslie House, Bruce Hostel, Hawker College, the Holder Remedial Centre, the Yarralumla Remedial Centre and elsewhere. I am thinking in particular of the very successful program at Tallong in New South Wales. (Extension of time granted) We did try to touch - - -
Mrs Nolan: Did we talk to the students?
DR KINLOCH: Yes, we did talk to students in each of those places - Ainslie House, Bruce Hostel, Hawker College, the Holder Remedial Centre, where I talked to a young man who was trying to set the place on fire, and at Tallong, which was one of the most enjoyable and fascinating places that we went to. Of course, one could do more. I thought we did what we could in the time we had.
In making these criticisms of Mrs Nolan's dissenting report, I do recognise that she sees that most of what we did was excellent, and I would say that she played her part in that. She has a keen mind; she looks carefully at paragraph after paragraph; she picks up errors. I think the excellence of the entire report is very much due to her, the two chairs and the other members of the committee. I do commend the report. Again, to conclude, I wish Judith Henderson well. May this Assembly be served by as excellent and competent a public servant as she is in this committee in future.
MRS GRASSBY (11.20): I wish to make a few comments on the report. We have been working on the inquiry into behavioural disturbance among young people for a long time. My colleague Mr Wood was the first chairman of this committee. He recognised this problem. I wish to comment that, of the many committees on which I have served, it is very difficult not to have been personally affected by this particular inquiry.
At times the amount of material in front of us seemed overwhelming. Eighty-seven written submissions were received and over 50 people gave evidence. They represented schools, both primary and secondary, and the community organisations which deal with children and parents. We visited 12 hostels and schools in the ACT, and the early committee travelled to New South Wales to visit seven organisations dealing with problem children. The extent of the problem seems enormous, and I am left with much sadness that this type of inquiry is even necessary.
However, Mr Speaker, if ever I felt the weight of the inquiry I would stop for a minute and think about those who have to cope with disturbed youngsters day in and day out, and they are the teachers in schools and the parents who have to deal with these children. The impact upon society is enormous and expensive. The demands placed upon parents is never ending and the effect on teachers and other children in the school system is disruptive and damaging. But never can we ignore it because it is too hard and too expensive, or turn our backs and hope that it will go away. It will not.
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