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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 8 Hansard (25 October) . . Page.. 1976 ..

Mr Connolly: But not on your program, Gary, which is why I tabled this.

MR HUMPHRIES: No. I indicate to the Assembly that some work already has been done by the Government on this subject. Perhaps Mr Connolly and I should talk about whether there are any policy differences between these two Bills and attempt to sort them out so that again, unanimously in the chamber, we can support extensions of the law to cover people in these circumstances.

MR BERRY (10.39): Mr Speaker, I propose to move a motion to suspend so much of standing orders as would prevent Ms McRae from moving a motion in relation to the restoration of supplementary funding for Charnwood High School arising from a public meeting last evening. I seek leave to make a short statement in relation to the business paper today.

Leave granted.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, I wish to indicate to members that we will move that notice No. 1 be postponed to a later hour this day in order that the arrangements which were reached yesterday in the Administration and Procedure Committee will not be upset. I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent Ms McRae from moving a motion concerning Charnwood High School.

Question resolved in the affirmative, with the concurrence of an absolute majority.

MS McRAE (10.41): I move:

Noting the level of community concern about the possible closure of Charnwood High School, this Assembly requires the Government to restore supplementation staffing to Charnwood High School to enable it to remain open in line with community wishes.

Mr Speaker, Charnwood High School has found itself in the worst of all possible worlds and the process that has been undergone has cheated the community and cheated the students of time to consider options fully. The Government says that their policy is to not close schools unless the community agrees. The community met last night and the agreement was not there. In fact, there was a distinct level of anger about the mere notion that their school, of which they are very proud and which they have spent a lot of time building up and working in, has to be closed.

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