Page 3656 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 8 December 1992
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Racism
MR CORNWELL (10.11): Madam Speaker, I am not sure that Mrs Grassby was not in breach of standing orders in reflecting on an earlier debate today.
Mrs Grassby: You can speak on anything on the adjournment. You had better look up your rules.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! Mr Cornwell has the floor.
Mr Humphries: That is not quite true.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! Mr Cornwell has the floor.
MR CORNWELL: However, Madam Chair, may I briefly respond. That is all it really calls for. I repeat that I am appalled at the thought that Mrs Grassby or her husband would have burnt a book. I understand from Mrs Grassby - correct me if I am wrong - that it came from a school, so it was damaging school property, to begin with. But to have burnt any book, I think, is outrageous. I think I made reference, Mrs Grassby, to the fact that this sort of thing went on in Hitler's Germany in the 1930s. I would hope that we would never see evidence of that sort of thing occurring again in the world. I think it is an appalling indictment. She then went on to talk about something happening on the New South Wales central coast of which I was aware. I read about it in the newspapers, but I do not see that it has any relevance whatsoever to the ACT.
Mrs Grassby: The Too Hard Basket does, though. You obviously did not read that either.
MR CORNWELL: The Too Hard Basket does indeed, Mrs Grassby. I think that if you check the records - Mr Connolly might check the records as he seems to be pretty good at ferreting out information - you will find that I am the only person in this Assembly who has asked a question relating to that publication and as to what was happening in relation to the recommendations. I think the record speaks for itself. Indeed, the Chief Minister is nodding her head, so I think my position on that is reasonably well demonstrated.
Mrs Grassby: That is not what you said in your speech.
MR CORNWELL: I do not resile from anything I said. I did invite you, and I still invite you, to put up or shut up in relation to what is going on in our schools by reporting the incidents and the information to the Minister, Mr Wood. If you do not do that, I believe that you are remiss as a member of this Assembly. Of course, if these terrible things are going on in our ACT schools, as you claim, it is clearly an indictment of your Government.
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