Page 3251 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 18 October 2006
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Central to Mrs Dunne’s bill are guidelines which will help schools facing declining enrolments consider their futures. It involves, as you can see when you read it, consulting local communities and making representations that go to the minister for decision. That is in schedule 2 of the bill. At the end of the day, the minister will be required to issue a statement of reasons whenever a school is to be closed or were schools to be amalgamated. What on earth is wrong with that? That would ensure that we never again have to put up with a similar process like the one we reviewed and witnessed this year, driven by a functional review report, which we still have not seen and which is still being withheld from the public.
It is all right for the Chief Minister to put confidential, anti-terrorist draft legislation on a website. Why on earth can you not put the functional review report on a website? Of course, it is cabinet-in-confidence! What is the government so afraid of? Why do they have to keep the community in the dark? The government simply will not come clean on the actual basis for decision-making regarding the closure of 39 schools. This bill squarely addresses that.
Our approach, contained in this bill, is about procedural fairness and transparency. It is the very antithesis of the approach taken by the Stanhope government in this year’s budget to the issue of school closures. In this way, our bill also offers protection for the community against the actions of a government in future when it comes to our schools.
I say to the Labor MLAs opposite—and they are not going to do this: have the courage of any convictions on educational issues you may have had back at the Labor Party conference—
Mr Mulcahy: It doesn’t count here.
MR STEFANIAK: It does not count here. I invite them to support our bill, which provides a rational and fair basis for future public policy developments in education. I do not want to be bashing my head against a brick wall here. You probably fear it is like going to a confession. You could not expunge your souls. You had your say at your conference. Now you can go ahead. To hell with the community! To hell with proper consultation! Your consciences are all clear. You can vote for the closure of these schools, even though I know some of you probably secretly do not particularly want to. I hope that you can see the benefit in a process like this. It is about fairness. This is an issue that affects thousands of people in our community and will do so for some time to come.
Our children’s education is of crucial importance to all of us. The community has indicated for many years they want transparent processes. You are never going to please all of the community. But if you have a transparent process like this, if you have a fair way of involving the community or taking the community along with you and looking at the community’s ideas, you will be able to satisfy most of the community if you have a logical, rational argument for doing something.
But you are not doing that. You are arbitrarily and arrogantly dictating to the community that 39 schools will close. You appreciate the situation as a result of the appalling decision you have made. You have worked out, “We made this decision. How do we
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