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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (5 September) . . Page.. 3131 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

Mr Speaker, from what I have said earlier, that some of those programs are going very well indeed, especially the Richardson Primary School program, which obviously has achieved very significant results in reducing violent behaviour and harassment in that school environment.

I think we all agree, Mr Speaker, that this is no easy problem. There has always been violence and harassment in schools. It would be nice to say that we can totally eliminate it. I do not think that is entirely realistic, but we can certainly do a lot to minimise it. The Government has in place a large number of strategies in relation to that. There are further steps being developed, some of which I have outlined here, to address this ongoing problem.

Attitudes have changed over many years. Mr Moore spoke of his experience as a student and also as a teacher in terms of corporal punishment. Attitudes to that have certainly changed since Mr Moore and I were at school. Attitudes to a large number of things that occur at schools and which impinge on violence also have changed over a 20-year period. Attitudes of students in relation to a number of issues which can have some relevance to violent and harassing behaviour have changed over the years. Changes to attitudes do take time, Mr Speaker.

I commend the Government's response to this inquiry. It has been a useful inquiry; no-one will deny that. There are things we feel could have been said but were not. Certainly, there are a few things that we do not agree with, but a large number of things that we do. I think that is probably the case with many reports on such complex issues like this which come before the Assembly. The Government will be supporting Mr Moore's motion to adjourn debate, and I look forward to talking to Mr Moore and Ms Tucker in relation to the points she has raised in her motion.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Debate resumed from 27 August 1996, on motion by Mr Stefaniak:

That the Assembly takes note of the paper.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

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