Page 2205 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 16 August 2006
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School students, like members of the community, are not immune to the rumours that go around. One student said she had heard that Kambah High School was a bad school. Those sorts of rumours have been around since the time Kambah was a big school bursting at the seams—the way the government wants schools to be. It had a reputation then as being a bad school. The former primary school student to whom I am referring was quite scared and did not want to go to that bad school.
That student, who is now in year 8, said there is no way she would change now because the teachers know who she is and she is getting the attention she deserves to develop her own program. We no longer want to hear people saying that small schools are bad because they are small. Kambah High School achieves really good educational outcomes, which is why students from that school signed this petition. I contributed in debate on this motion today to place that fact on the record.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation and Minister for Industrial Relations) (10.43): For the reasons I outlined yesterday the government will not support this motion. The appropriate practice in this place is to give petitions to the responsible minister.
Mrs Dunne: So they go on a file somewhere?
MR BARR: It may well be that that is how petitions were treated when the Liberals were in government, but I assure the Assembly that that is not how petitions are treated under this government. I take these petitions seriously, just as I have the entire consultation process. I wish to respond to what Dr Foskey just said. She insinuated that schools that were larger than those to which she referred were bad schools just because they were larger. Is she saying that Lyneham High School, Narrabundah College, Telopea Park, Canberra College and Hawker College are all schools that are considerably larger? I could continue my list for some time.
Dr Foskey: No, Mr Barr.
MR BARR: Is she suggesting—
Dr Foskey: No, Mr Barr. I am not saying that.
MR SPEAKER: Order!
MR BARR: She made a series of outrageous allegations. She said that schools that were larger—
Mr Smyth: Nobody said that.
MR BARR: Dr Foskey just insinuated that schools where students were not known offered poor education.
Mr Pratt: Your defence is so paper-thin you have to resort to crap like that.
MR SPEAKER: Order!
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