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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 6 Hansard (24 May) . . Page.. 1651 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

sure that the committee, of which I am also a member, will go to the issues of substance which need to be addressed in relation to these matters.

I do not want to deal with any of the evidence that has been given to the committee, as that would be rude, other than to say that the evidence that has been received has done nothing to alleviate my concern about indigenous education in our schools. This matter cannot be brushed aside. If there is a move to brush it aside, to relieve the minister of the responsibility of reporting to the community every three months on exactly what is going on in indigenous education, we will have failed in our duty.

We have a duty to all of our citizens to ensure that they are aware of what is going on with our system. We are especially responsible for ensuring that our community is aware when there have been such bad reports about the performance of our education system. I repeat that it may well be that the education department can convince us that they are doing an adequate job. I will bet you that if this motion is passed they will be doing an adequate job because they will have to report on all of the moves that are being made to improve the situation.

Nobody will argue that the performance of our education system is up to the standard that we would require in relation to indigenous students; nobody would accept that. We will never accept it while ever we have such large gaps between the outcomes for indigenous students and those for non-indigenous students; it is simply unacceptable. We need to have a full and better understanding of the work that the department is doing. Three monthly reports are a way of reassuring the community that this government is serious about building social capital.

We are going to hear the words "social capital" over and over again. I have a vague suspicion at this point, and it is growing, that the government's interpretation of building social capital is a little different from mine. If the government resist this motion or try to delay its implementation, it will be a clear demonstration that they have a different interpretation from mine and they do not want to keep the community informed about what is going on in our education system.

Our education system, as with any other education system throughout the world, has a responsibility to build better communities, without which the world can never progress. Democracy, social justice and support for our broader community come from having a quality education system.

This motion is meant to be received positively; but, in the wake of the recent ACT budget, we can feel concerned that there have been no new initiatives from the ACT government at least, though there is some Commonwealth funding mentioned in the budget papers, and the subject has received something less of an emphasis than it ought. I do not think there can be any doubt about the expression of concern about these reports; the reports are of concern. The reporting requirements would lead us to a point where we, as part of the community, will be better informed. They would also give the minister and his department the opportunity to demonstrate that they are dealing with the issue in a positive and progressive way.

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