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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 6 Hansard (23 May) . . Page.. 1665 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

I was appalled to hear a member of the Liberal Party on the radio recently talking about child development and punishment, and discipline for those bad parents who have bad children who graffiti our walls and mess up our tidy town. These statements reflect a total ignorance of informed thought on the topic and also show a lack of compassion. If members who hold these views looked in detail at the lives of some of these kids, they might be surprised that they behave so well. They might see that their families do not need blame, but need support in finding ways to resolve very difficult life situations. If they spent a week in a classroom, they might also realise the difficulties that some of our teachers have to work with. Their task is much more than teaching. It is often more like social work, and they must be supported in it.

I repeat that this is one of a number of reports which have come out on the issue of violence or behavioural disturbance and there are common recommendations or conclusions in them all. (Extension of time granted) Thank you, members. There are common recommendations or conclusions in all these reports. They are that early intervention and preventative measures are the most effective solutions. A long-term strategy has to be adopted. Now it is up to this Government to respond positively to this report and show that they do value what most Canberrans value in our society.

MS REILLY (12.18): Mr Speaker, although I came late to this inquiry, I was very pleased to be part of the deliberations in its last months. It was also a very enjoyable experience to work with my two colleagues Mr Hird and Ms Tucker, and it was very interesting to get to know them better. I would like to express thanks for all the work done by the secretary of the committee, Judith Henderson. She did a marvellous job and I think she should be commended.

I also had the opportunity to take part in a couple of school visits to Richardson school and Malkara school, and they were impressive. From talking to the principals of these schools, I recognise the time and energy that these people have contributed to their school communities, to ensure that they are safe and happy places for the students and for the teachers and to provide an open learning environment within those schools. I am sure that this is typical of schools in the ACT. They are trying, often under difficult circumstances, to provide the best environment for the children of the ACT; but, of course, it all comes back to resources and support.

We are all concerned about the development of our children here in the ACT, but we cannot take the attitude that it is the responsibility of only the schools. It is not. The whole community has a role to play in ensuring that children have the best opportunities to develop in a safe, non-threatening environment where their abilities have the best chance to develop. This means that we must support schools and we must support families, to ensure that when there are difficulties, when things do not go as smoothly as would be hoped, there is help available.

In considering this topic, violence in schools, it was of concern that there was possibly more violence in the ACT than anywhere else. I suggest that there probably is no difference; but this issue, I understand, was raised in the early considerations of the committee, and I think it is a good example of early intervention. This was a concern - it was not seen as a major concern - but we were looking at violence in schools and finding ways of addressing that, and I think this is a very important point as well.

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