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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 7 Hansard (19 June) . . Page.. 2030 ..

MR SPEAKER: I beg your pardon!

Mr Berry: Well, you obviously did not hear.

MR SPEAKER: Withdraw that remark, otherwise I will deal with you.

Mr Berry: I withdraw that, Mr Speaker. I notice that you did not hear Mr Humphries reflecting on last week's debate. Could you call him to order.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Humphries has not reflected on the debate, and if you continue to interject I will deal with you. We are dealing with a matter relating to openness in government. That was the question as far as I am aware.

Ms Tucker: Mr Speaker, I would like to speak to the point of order. Mr Berry is correct in saying that Mr Humphries has on several occasions now referred to what happened in the Assembly when we had debate about what sort of information should be made available to students and to parents regarding their school performance, and that was the debate about league tables. The point of order is absolutely correct in that this is a reflection on the vote. The Chief Minister is now bringing this matter into the election. He is saying that he is going to stand by the position he took in the debate we had last week, which he lost. That is a reflection on that vote.

Mr Moore: On the point of order, Mr Speaker: the debate to which Ms Tucker and Mr Berry refer was about league tables. There was quite a distinction made in that debate between what were league tables and what was broad information. If you take the concept that no information about schools can be made public-

Mr Stanhope: Who said that?

Mr Moore: I do not think anybody has said that. Mr Stanhope makes the argument for me: nobody has said that, and that is exactly what Mr Humphries is doing.

Mr Stanhope: He has just Gary-ed the Labor Party.

MR SPEAKER: Proceed Mr Humphries.

MR HUMPHRIES: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, without reflecting on any vote of this Assembly but commenting on a broader issue about accountability, I think we need as a community to address the way in which we put on the table information that will allow the community to understand better how our students and our schools are performing. This is a very important process; it is a very important step to take.

I know that Mr Berry has argued in the public arena in recent days that we should protect students from information on how well they are doing. I do not share that conviction. I believe that the true test of openness is how much we are prepared to put this information in the public domain.

Mr Berry: Mr Speaker, on a point of order: I will give you another opportunity to call Mr Humphries to order.

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