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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (5 September) . . Page.. 3126 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

It was part of a culture at the time which is something that we can well leave behind. I recall receiving, on one occasion, six strokes of the strap for something I had done. In the culture of the time, I did not see it as a violent act. I saw it as a normal thing. I did not feel particularly harsh about the teacher who was delivering it. That was the system; you expected it. However, the underlying notion that it was teaching us was that violence is a reasonable and acceptable way of resolving problems. What we are trying to do in our society, and what comes right through this report, is that violence is not an acceptable way of resolving problems.

One of the complexities of this issue, of course, is how to deal with boys in primary school. Boys in primary school invariably have experimented with each other in terms of tiffs. Very rarely in a primary school do boys seriously hurt each other. Tiffs happen constantly and it is appropriate for us to deal with those and to try to continue teaching that that is not an appropriate way to sort out problems. Often these tiffs are a form of playing, a form of testing just how far you can go with one of your mates without actually hurting each other. I think we have to be very careful to distinguish between that sort of play, which has about it a competitive edge which could be interpreted as violence, and a deliberate act of violence. Sometimes a deliberate act of violence is done verbally. Somebody may be mercilessly bullied verbally, and I consider that a much more serious consequence than one of these tiffs.

Worse still, of course, is where somebody is physically bullied, and that bullying is threatening. I am distinguishing specifically between that and the play and the tiffs that are very regular occurrences in our schools. Whilst I do not advocate that as a method of play, I do put a note of caution that we have to be particularly careful that we do not confuse what we mean by violence with what we mean by rugged play. To take it an extra step further, if we were to take this to extremes, we would have to set about banning all contact sports. People play these sports because they agree that that is the sport that they are going to play. I think we have to be very careful about how we define things and how we deal with them.

Mr Speaker, when we get to the motion that has been foreshadowed by Ms Tucker, it is my intention to move to adjourn the debate so that we have proper time to think about it. Ms Tucker and Mr Stefaniak have agreed that it is appropriate for us to sit around - I have not had time to get to other members - - -

Ms McRae: Are you sure?

Ms Tucker: I am listening.

MR MOORE: Ms Tucker has not agreed; okay. I apologise for misrepresenting the situation. We ought to have time to sit down with the Minister and his staff on this occasion and see what is the best way to implement what Ms Tucker seeks in her motion, and the things that I agree with. We have time to go through the appropriate process, and the Minister has indicated goodwill. I think this is an appropriate opportunity to go through that process. If the outcome is not the way we want it, this matter can come back to the Assembly at the next sitting and be dealt with there. Mr Speaker, I think this is a very important report that deserves careful reading by members of the Assembly and the public.

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