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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 2 Hansard (28 February) . . Page.. 401 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

As I have indicated, such arrangements may be appropriate given the particular circumstances of some agencies. However, the government remains of the view that the review provisions set out in the Public Sector Management Amendment Bill provide the most comprehensive and effective means of safeguarding the interests of its staff.

Government schools-cooling and heating infrastructure

Debate resumed.

MR WOOD (3.21): Once again the opposition's been Gary-ed in this debate.

Mr Corbell: Not again.

MR WOOD: Again, I am afraid. That is to say, with deference, Mr Speaker, that government members attribute to the Labor Party a position which they establish, through false argument, distortion or misrepresentation, and then proceed to attack that supposed position, which, of course, is a long way from the real position.

That is what "Gary-ed" means, Mr Speaker. This morning, Mr Stefaniak, who obviously feels some discomfort about the issue of heating at Gordon Primary School, tried to say that in some way we were responsible because we started school-based management.

Mr Stefaniak: School-based management is a good thing, Bill.

MR WOOD: I can confirm what Mr Hargreaves said earlier. He was at the workplace when it was started. I was the minister before that time, and I think if I went back upstairs and searched through my files I might find the Liberal policy for the 1995 election, which followed a very fine speech by Mrs Carnell, in which she gave great praise to handing responsibility to schools, and that included school-based management. And there was some debate at the time.

Mr Stefaniak: She was excited about it.

MR WOOD: So school-based management was very much an initiative, Mr Stefaniak, of the Liberal Party. Have you forgotten that? That is the case.

Mr Stefaniak: We're very proud of our enhanced school-based management, Bill.

MR WOOD: Well, you were trying to pass it off before. Now your view of that has changed. And things do change. There have been times in Australia, given the climate of Australia, where children have learnt their lessons in either very hot or very cold conditions. And, as an ex-teacher-and it goes back a little time, longer than I care to think about-I can confirm that.

But times change. It changes in your own household where once you grew up. I grew up in a frosty town like Toowoomba without much internal heating. I no longer tolerate that. And times change in Canberra and we have different expectations today to what we had many years ago. The entirely reasonable expectations of those people at Gordon is that they be able to work in reasonable conditions.

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