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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 9 Hansard (23 November) . . Page.. 2511 ..

MS McRAE (continuing):

It just does not add up. I still need to hear from the Government today - maybe they need to take me through every single line of the budget - why it is that, if the allocation of money to the education sector has been increased, has been improved, is better than it has ever been, these changes are being made which are reducing the number of teachers in secondary colleges and which have taken away critical advisers within the central office - a clear reduction of positions. Nothing we have heard from the Government has explained this adequately enough to please me, the Education Union, the P and C or, most of all, Michael Moore.

We have talked before about our role in this Assembly and the role of the Independents and the role of government. Quite clearly, if you vote for a Liberal government, you get a Liberal budget. But we are told that this is not a Liberal government; this is a minority government. So at the very least, if you vote for a Liberal government, you should get a Michael Moore budget. Why on earth would a Liberal minority government turn its back on the person who supports it? It makes absolutely no sense. We are not told, "It is because we want to defy Michael Moore and show how tough we are and how we are going to run the show". No, we are told, "Well, it is not true. You are all wrong. There is more money in the education budget than there has ever been - $7.7m more - and all of you collectively are wrong". Not only am I wrong - I am allowed to be wrong; I am in the Opposition - but Michael Moore is wrong, Kerrie Tucker is wrong, Paul Osborne is wrong, the teachers union is wrong, the P and C Council is wrong, and every single teacher who is complaining about the loss of service from the central office and about the attack on the secondary college system is wrong. What an extraordinary situation!

On top of all of that, there are six of us and we are the problem. There are 11 other people in this Assembly who can exert their authority on this Government collectively, and the six of us are the problem. The six of us are the problem because the Government has taken $3.8m out of the budget? The logic just does not add up.

Mr Stefaniak: We are paying that, Roberta.

MS McRAE: This is what you are trying to tell me, Mr Stefaniak. You have tried to tell me several times and you have tried to tell everybody else several times, but why are we losing four or five teachers out of our secondary colleges? Why are we losing our evening Year 12 programs? Why have we lost our LOTE adviser? Why have we lost our Aboriginal education adviser? Why has the system been so dramatically changed if the money is being increased, for heaven's sake? It does not make sense, and you are going to have to tell a pretty good story.

There are all sorts of other yarns being spun that we are the problem, and that suits the Government for the time being; but that story is going to last for only a few minutes. People will understand that there is a government here that is in charge of its budget, that is supported by four Independents, and they have cut this budget, not us. There are no stories coming from our side. It is those people collectively who have put this budget together and are willing to support this budget which has an increase for education,

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