Page 2516 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 23 August 2006
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
this place. It was agreed to unanimously by all parties represented in this place. That legislation was passed with the support of all members of this place. That minimum time frame of six months was agreed to as the minimum adequate period.
That is the bottom line. We all agreed that was a reasonable period for consultation. You could go further if you wanted, but we all agreed that that was the basic requirement and we all agreed to it in this place, so do not come into this place and say that six months is not good enough when you voted for it. That is what you did. You voted for six months, the Greens voted for six months and the Labor Party voted for six months. We all agreed that six months was an appropriate period for consultation; we all agreed on that. I do not think it is acceptable to prolong such a decision for longer than that period. At a point, we need to make a decision. As a government and as a community, we need to give certainty to everyone involved. People need to know whether schools are going to stay open or will have to close.
Mr Speaker, this is not an easy issue. This is a very difficult issue. But it is a long-term structural issue that the territory simply has to tackle, simply has to address, and this government is prepared to tackle the issue. It is not an easy issue for us, it is not a simple issue for us and it is not an issue that gives us a lot of comfort. No politicians like to put themselves in a position where they are in opposition to a wide variety of voices in the community. No politicians put themselves in that position, unless they feel that it is a decision that is in the best long-term interests of the community. At the end of the day, that is why we are elected. We are not elected to make short-term populist decisions that may or may not allow us to get a leg up at the next election. We are elected as representatives to take the decisions that are in the best long-term interests of our community.
Right now, in this place, there is only one party that is prepared to take those long-term decisions in the best interests of the community, that is, the Australian Labor Party. All the Greens and the Liberals are looking at is short-term political advantage. Is it any wonder that they do not want a school closure to occur until within 12 months of the next ACT election? Is it any wonder that they are interested in putting in place a time frame that allows them to achieve maximum political advantage?
Let’s understand what this motion is about. This motion is not about them standing up for people in the community or standing up in favour of school communities. It is about giving them political advantage. It is about allowing them to use it as a political issue at the next election and having a time frame and a closure process in place for a time when they can achieve maximum political advantage. That is what it is about. It is a cynical political position. It is not a position that is in the best long-term interests of the ACT community.
There is only one party in this place that is prepared to take the risks around the political disfavour that inevitably comes with these sorts of decisions because it believes that they are in the long-term interests of the community, that is, the Australian Labor Party. The Chief Minister has said repeatedly that this budget is not a budget that is designed for short-term political gain. It is a budget and it is a decision designed for the long-term benefit of the community, for a sustainable public education system where the resources are directed in a way where most students get the most benefit. That is what elected
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .