Page 2275 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 16 August 2006
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MRS DUNNE: Yes, indeed. This motion today, this replication of the amendment that was moved and voted on at the conference nearly three weeks ago by five Labor members here present, is a deliberate challenge to those five members to vote the same way again. The notion of school closures is a difficult one, and it has caused considerable angst. It has produced merchandise like a save our schools CD. I now have a collection of T-shirts in my office and am collecting more.
MR SPEAKER: One of which is in this house and is disorderly.
Ms Gallagher: Yes, it is disorderly, Mrs Dunne. Take it off, Mrs Dunne.
Mr Seselja: Don’t ask her to take it off.
Mr Barr: I second Mr Seselja. Don’t ask her to take it off.
MR SPEAKER: I don’t intend to.
MRS DUNNE: That would be more disorderly. This motion has been brought about because almost all of us in this community are opposed to the bulk school closures and restructuring proposed in Towards 2020. Almost all of the people in the community who are opposed to that have a variety of means by which they will address and attack this stupid, short-sighted, unresponsive plan put forward by the new minister for education.
The ACT opposition is opposed to this proposal of bulk closures and reorganisations because it is too far-reaching—39 schools, adding to the one Ms Gallagher has already closed. To close 40 schools in the life of this Assembly is too much for any community to bear. The savings are probably not there and, for the most part, the disruption this will cause to the community is unwarranted. No research or consultation with the community has gone into any of this process.
The variety of mechanisms that will be brought forward in this place and being called for in the community are to do a number of things: first and foremost to put a halt to the insanity that, somewhere between 6 and 21 December this year, this minister, and the government he is part of, is going to announce a fairly large number of school closures.
We heard from the Chief Minister yesterday: there will be school closures, let there be no doubt about it. We do not know how many school closures—and some schools may get a reprieve. We do not know what the criteria are for getting a reprieve. I suspect most people out there in the community think that the squeaky wheels will get a reprieve, the people who are most able to put their case forward. Their case may not be as good as somebody else’s. But there are no criteria.
There are no criteria for anything in this motion. This is why the Liberal opposition has taken a principle position. We will oppose everything in Towards 2020. But if this government wants to talk about school closures, we will have the conversation with them and with the community, on the community’s terms. Remember we are the servants of the community. They pay our salaries; they put us here. The community has turned out in force. You have seen the thousands of signatures and the number of meetings. Mr Barr has made a sterling effort going to meeting after meeting, and for that I commend him.
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