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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 3 Hansard (28 May) . . Page.. 727 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

They were there when I was at school. I remember quite clearly my parents having to pay. I think it was about Year 9 or Year 10 at Narrabundah. It was 1967. I think it was either $12 or $16 then. That was for the provision of things like textbooks which you would hand back and other things. So they have been around for a long time and they do form a very important part of our government school system at the school face. I think it is important that parents, when they can, do make that contribution.

Whilst we have had the occasional complaint about people being a bit coerced, I do not think I can recall one complaint where someone who could not pay a fee, after making that known, discreetly in many instances, to the relevant people in the school, was coerced. I think that is something that has shone right through. But there are a number of instances, as I said earlier, which still do crop up from time to time, even though there is significantly more assistance available from the central office as a result of recent concerns at two schools. There are still occasions which crop up where someone does not like the tone of a letter, and when there is any substance to that we take it up with the school.

MR WOOD: Mr Speaker, my question is to the Chief Minister. It is clear from a statement in today's Canberra Times that the Competition Policy Forum was not offered a briefing on the Belconnen pool issue as you had previously claimed. Will you now apologise for misrepresenting the forum and misleading the community and the Assembly?

Mr Humphries: I rise on a point of order, Mr Speaker. Mr Wood has been in this place long enough to know that if he is going to accuse a member of misleading the Assembly he moves a motion. He gets up and says, "I move that the member be censured for having misled the Assembly". If he wants to throw those little barbs around, he ought either to have the guts to back it up with a motion or not make the comment at all.

MR SPEAKER: I have to uphold the point of order.

MR WOOD: How sensitive!

MR SPEAKER: It needs a substantive motion.

Mr Humphries: It is in the standing orders, Mr Wood.

MR WOOD: How sensitive! Chief Minister, you misrepresented the forum. Did you mislead the Assembly?

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, no, I did not mislead the Assembly.

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