Page 3541 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 12 October 1994
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MR WOOD: If you pay attention, Mr De Domenico - - -
Mr De Domenico: I am still waiting for you to make a decision, Mr Minister.
MR WOOD: The response I give to Mrs Carnell is that she should have read the whole book. Perhaps that was a bit beyond her. This is one of the fix-it books that are pretty popular in America. I might say that it has some good stuff in it, too; there is no question about that. She speaks the same language as this book. There are some quite interesting comparisons between her speeches and this book - "service delivery", "funding outcomes", "benchmarking", "competition"; they all appear here. It is clear that this so-called vision is not even Mrs Carnell's own vision but one purloined from the latest US management craze.
That is not to say to Mr De Domenico that we cannot learn from textbooks or from the experience of others. But Mrs Carnell has not even read the whole book. The authors, in their introduction, make the point that they believe deeply in equity and in a real opportunity for all. That is not the impact of Mrs Carnell's competition and per capita funding; there is a lack of equity in that. The authors believe that equity is important. We are not going to threaten it; we are not going to challenge that in the ACT by allowing the Liberals to take control.
The authors also note that they believe in government action. Remember Mrs Carnell's comment, "Why is the Government in here at all?". The authors believe in government action - not, as Mrs Carnell sees it, as a necessary evil but as a means of solving the problems facing our society. They say, "How will we solve these problems?". By acting collectively. "How do we act collectively?". Through government. Mrs Carnell should go back and read the book in some detail, or perhaps sponsor Mr De Domenico to do that. The language of Mrs Carnell's vision is one of business, of numbers and of dollars. I suggest that the Liberals pay some attention - let us have a backbench revolt - to what schools are really about.
Finance Brokers Licence
MR HUMPHRIES: My question is to the Attorney-General once again. Again, it is about the ongoing saga of Mr Rick Reeks's application for a credit providers licence. Mr Connolly has suggested in this chamber, in an answer earlier today, that, in fact, Mr Reeks's problems are due to the fact that he has failed to supply information to his department; has supplied incorrect information; has not been forthcoming; or whatever. I refer the Minister to a letter he sent to Mr Reeks dated 9 May, in which he indicated:
I expect that you will be contacted in the near future in relation to the outcome of your application.
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