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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 2 Hansard (27 February) . . Page.. 297 ..

MR MOORE (11.01): Mr Speaker, in the Minister's words, let us all work together to provide the best possible education for all students in our schools. Indeed, we would be happy to all work together if other members of this Assembly were also prepared to work together. In fact, it was the Labor vote along with the Liberal vote that prevented amendment not only to the education budget but also to the health budget. If it were not for the hypocrisy of the Labor Party, that education funding - - -

Opposition members interjected.

Mr Hird: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I draw your attention to standing order 39. I am trying to hear, as I am interested, as many other people are, in what Mr Moore is saying.

Mr Berry: That is the first bit of interest you have shown so far.

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Berry! I uphold the point of order. Standing order 39 clearly states that no other member may interrupt while a member is speaking.

MR MOORE: I think the most critical factor in terms of a statement of working together would be to seek an improvement in morale. This applies not only to teachers but also to areas like nursing and other areas across the ACT administration. This Government has done anything but try to improve morale. It is only by an improvement of morale that we will see genuine efficiency and genuine productivity gains. Those productivity gains are not measured in financial terms only. Look at patient care and, in the case of education, student care.

Mr Berry: Michael, you voted them in and supported their budget.

MR MOORE: Once again we have an interjection from the hypocrite sitting over there who did not support an amendment to the education and health budgets.

Mr Berry: You voted them in as a government and supported their budget.

MR MOORE: He now interjects, "You voted for the budget". What he had hoped was that we would knock off the budget, and he would be back in government and leave exactly the same mess as he left us in the first place. We had a choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. At this stage we are going to leave Tweedledum in.

Mr Stefaniak's paper deals a great deal with self-management of schools. Whilst they set up self-management of schools, one point that was raised, to a certain extent, by Ms McRae, I think, does need to be explored somewhat further. There is this process that is going on where schools are facing a self-management program that as yet has to be discussed fully by the community. It is not one that the Government is intending to fully fund. A successful self-management program is actually going to cost more. To use this as a tool that will cost less is a formula for disaster, and I certainly will not be supporting a system of self-management that is going to be used to save money.

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