Page 1577 - Week 04 - Thursday, 25 March 2010
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We are not alone. We are not alone in seeing this and noting the compromises that constantly take place. We take the responsibility seriously and we hope that our Green colleagues are able to join us and ensure that this accountability that the community so wanted is not overshadowed by the sacred agreement that we are not allowed to quote or query.
The Greens promised they would be a third-party insurance for our community. However, on too many occasions our ACT Green colleagues have proved to be third-party insurance but not for the people, not for the community, but for the government. Ms Hunter said yesterday morning that school communities felt betrayed and shocked when the government closed schools in 2006. Ms Hunter should understand that these communities felt exactly the same way when the Greens failed to act to rectify some of the damage when they had the chance.
Let me remind this Assembly that in September 2009 the recommendations of the education committee school closures inquiry were released by the chair, Ms Bresnan. The recommendations included the opening of Tharwa, Hall, Flynn and Cook schools. When questioned by the media on how far the Greens were willing to go on this issue, Ms Bresnan was straight to the point—no, ambiguity whatsoever. “All the way,” she answered.
In October 2009, I tabled a motion in this place on the reopening of these schools, and the all-the-way commitment of the Greens turned to mush; it turned into shutting down debate on this topic, a topic in regard to which, in Ms Hunter’s own words in media reports yesterday, communities felt betrayed and shocked when the government closed the schools in 2006. As Ms Hunter quite rightly stated, the community did feel betrayed and shocked, and the community could not believe that the ACT Greens compounded that betrayal by also betraying this same community by shutting down debate on our motion in September.
It was not the government that shut it down, not the government that shut down debate, which would have been somewhat understandable, but it was our third-party insurance. It was your party, Ms Hunter, that shut down debate, an unforgivable decision when taken in context of your pre-election promises.
The Greens had the chance to enforce accountability and question the government on behalf of the community, the rights and wrongs of reopening some closed schools. The Greens had that chance to join with us, with the opposition, to enable these schools to be reopened.
Evidence was in place that the communities were viable and that the processes used to close these schools were flawed. Yet, when push came to shove, after the committee’s finding gave us the opportunity, the Greens chose their partnership with the government over the good of the community. They essentially endorsed the government’s flawed actions, secrecy and duplicity in the tragic school closures. How would an auditor of the Greens-government agreement for higher standard of accountability, transparency and responsibility classify the Greens’ actions in shutting down this very debate?
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