Page 3239 - Week 10 - Thursday, 25 September 2014
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individuals with families, connected to the school community and doing a good job. Out of those, 25 are secular workers. Should the commonwealth reject the proposition of the government schools, the independent schools and the Catholic schools, that will result in 25 people being sacked from their jobs. I do not think that is in anyone’s interest, and I ask—through you, Madam Speaker, and it is a hypothetical question, I know—those opposite whether they really want to see 25 secular workers, nine of whom work in the Catholic schools and two of whom work in independent schools, sacked. I do not think we should accept that for the ACT community.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Berry.
MS BERRY: Minister, why is it important for school communities to be able to have a choice between secular and chaplain welfare workers?
MS BURCH: I think the benefit of having that choice is that the school community knows what best meets its needs. A whole range of reasons will come into that local decision-making. Chaplains and secular workers do a very good job, and the work that they do is on record. They support the school community, they support children. I have heard stories of where they are involved in the breakfast clubs, supporting kids that are disadvantaged or isolated from the general community. Secular and chaplains alike have got the school community’s best interests at heart.
What I would like to see is this chamber have our school community’s best interests at heart. And that includes the 25 schools that choose to employ a secular worker. I would have thought it is the right thing that we support those schools. Indeed, I would have thought it was inherently the Christian thing to do, to support those 25 secular workers.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Mrs Jones.
MRS JONES: Minister, will you support the sacking of the 27 religious chaplains, which is a possibility?
Mr Corbell: Point of order, Madam Speaker.
MADAM SPEAKER: You have a point of order, Mr Corbell?
Mr Corbell: Is that question hypothetical, Madam Speaker? It refers to what the minister will do if an eventuality that is not yet in prospect occurs.
Mrs Jones: On the point of order, the question relates to a position that has been made clear by the minister that she is playing tricksy words with. So I want the question answered of whether the 27 chaplains who are already employed under this program have their jobs on the line because this minister wants to play games on secularised grounds.
MADAM SPEAKER: I think that was a speech, Mrs Jones, not a response to the point of order, but I am going to allow the question, because in answer to the two
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