Page 1964 - Week 06 - Thursday, 8 June 2006
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these ideals really will not get a guernsey. These are the qualities that we should be looking for in schools and these are not the qualities being nurtured in Mr Barr’s agenda.
The sad truth is that people are leaving the public education system, not because they do not have the right age group mix or the right curriculum options. They are leaving because things are constantly changing. What we see with this towards 2020 package is even more change, change for its own sake. People are leaving the public education system, especially the high schools, because we are heading towards the situation where we will have the worst staff ratios in the country. What we are seeing here is not the best outcome for schools.
I am open to having a discussion. I have said to Mr Barr on a number of occasions that I would like to be part of the solution to making the government education system in this town a great education system. I appreciate that this minister feels the need to do something. My great concern in this debate is that this something is the wrong something. This something will be the death knell of the government education system because anyone who wants stability in the next three or four years is going to abandon the government education system. They are going to seek security and nurture and succour in the non-government education system. All the great rhetoric that this man has come up with in the last few weeks will be for nought. If we persist with these schemes, he will be the butcher of the government education system in this town.
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (4.56): In 1939, Mr Chamberlain said, “There will be peace in our time,” and the world believed him not. When Jon Stanhope, the Chief Minister, says, “There is no crisis,” Canberra believes him not. If there is no crisis, why is the government cutting 500 jobs from the ACT public service? If there is no crisis, why is the government closing 39 schools? If there is no crisis, why won’t the government undertake adequate consultation? If there is no crisis, why is the government slashing $5 million from the business budget? If there is no crisis, why is the government shutting down the knowledge fund?
If there is no crisis, why is the government ripping $4½ million out of tourism? If there is no crisis, why is the government reducing road expenditure? If there is no crisis, why is the government not employing police officers at the national average? If there is no crisis, why is the government adding the burden of an additional $63 million in taxes and rate increases onto the people of the ACT? If there is no crisis, why is the government increasing traffic infringement fines by 34 per cent? If there is no crisis, why is the government shutting down the ACTC? If there is no crisis, why is the government dragging the Emergency Services Authority back into the government? If there is no crisis, why is the government getting rid of the ACTION Authority?
If there is no crisis, why is the government shutting down the ICRC and dragging its functions back into a department? If there is no crisis, why is the government putting up fees and charges? If there is no crisis, why is Jon Stanhope using Jon Stanhope modified GFS reporting? If there is no crisis, why is the water abstraction charge going up by 107 per cent? If there is no crisis, why is the government putting up fees by a total of 21 per cent? If there is no crisis, why is this government abandoning its white paper and its Canberra plan? It is because they have failed and this government has failed. Tuesday’s budget is recognition of that.
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