Page 4757 - Week 15 - Thursday, 16 December 1993
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ADJOURNMENT
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! It being 4.30 pm, I propose the question:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
Mr Berry: I require the question to be put forthwith without debate.
Question resolved in the negative.
GOVERNMENT'S PERFORMANCE DURING 1993
Discussion of Matter of Public Importance
Debate resumed.
MR WOOD: The Opposition is in no position to maintain a spurious argument such as they have done.
MR CORNWELL (4.31): Madam Speaker, it is fortunate - - -
Mr Wood: You are not going to talk about the education budget, surely. How could you?
MR CORNWELL: It is fortunate that I am following Mr Wood, because it is my unpleasant but regrettable duty - I say regrettable really, not unpleasant - to judge Mr Wood's and this Government's performance in the field of education. I would have to say that if I were to identify one word that would sum up this Government's role in education, particularly under its Minister for Education, Mr Wood, it would have to be "indecisive". It would have to be indecisive, particularly in relation to maths, because this began, Madam Speaker, early in the year when Mr Wood was unable to recognise that 34 was not a primary number, at least inasmuch as Griffith Primary was concerned. The problem with maths was followed in April by Mr Wood mislaying some 9,000 surplus government school spaces. These still have not been found, even though they are probably a little over a quota for the next election. Mr Wood also had difficulty in handling subtractions, because he made a significant mistake, Madam Speaker, in trying to deduct 80 teachers from 2,958 and ended up with zero.
Mr Humphries: That is "Wood" maths.
MR CORNWELL: That is very good maths indeed, Mr Humphries. He is also having great difficulty with fractions. I said fractions, not factions. I say that because Mr Wood cannot recognise that 66 per cent equals two-thirds of the electorate, and that is the percentage of people who voted in favour of Hare-Clark with Robson rotation being in the Electoral (Amendment) Bill that was tabled this morning in this house in such a dishonest fashion.
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