Page 3065 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 17 November 1992
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MR DE DOMENICO: I would like to be consulted, and this Government, we hear from time to time, is a consulting government. As a parent of people that Mr Moore, Mrs Carnell and Mrs Grassby might like to interview, I would like at least the courtesy of being asked my opinion, as it is my children who may be interviewed.
Mr Connolly: Talk to Mrs Carnell.
MR DE DOMENICO: We have already spoken to Mrs Carnell. By the way, you will find that Mrs Carnell supported the Liberal Party amendment, Mr Connolly, just for your information. We do speak in the Liberal Party, unlike people opposite. For all those reasons, Madam Speaker, I agree with Mr Kaine. This committee seems to have run its life. We acknowledge that we should allow it to close up shop at the end of March, but the Liberal Party will not be supporting the extension until the end of June.
MR LAMONT (4.49): Briefly, Madam Speaker, it would be interesting to hear Mrs Carnell's view. It is interesting that, while Mr De Domenico spoke against this, a member of the committee from the Liberal side has not commented. That should be publicly noted.
MR MOORE (4.49), in reply: It gives me pleasure to respond to some of the comments made. Mr Cornwell raised a quite important issue. It was the recommendation of students at the colleges that we should speak to students in the high schools. That recommendation came with a whole series of very important ideas they presented to the community. Mr Cornwell may like to join the committee and have a look at what we have done and how our committee operated in those schools, in what I think were very effective and important discussions, from which we learned a great deal.
It was because of those recommendations of the students at the colleges that our committee felt that it would be appropriate to speak to students in high schools. I appreciate Mr Cornwell's comment that there may be some merit not only in getting the permission of the principal, but also in asking the principal to seek the permission of the parents of students involved. I think there is some merit in that.
With reference to the colleges, obviously there will be a different attitude. I would like to express my thanks to the colleges and to St Edmund's high school for inviting our committee in and allowing us to talk to the students. It was very interesting that in some cases the teachers were present; in other cases the teachers were not present. We received a very warm reception at the schools and colleges. Moreover, the people who dealt with us there commented to us that it was a good idea because their students were actually exposed to the parliamentary process. It was a very positive contribution to their understanding of democracy and how it works. It has been a very positive process and I hope that it will continue.
I have a couple of comments to make about Mr Kaine's lack of understanding of the committee system. It seems to me that the same person who talked not so long ago in the Canberra Times about strengthening the role of committees ought to understand - - -
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