Page 282 - Week 01 - Thursday, 14 February 2019
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MR RATTENBURY: In 2004 and 2014 the Greens brought forward legislation which the Labor Party did not support. They have now changed their position. There is a well-known expression “Welcome to the party,” which is “Thanks for getting on board with the same position.”
Mr Hanson interjecting—
MR RATTENBURY: Your serial rudeness does you no service, Mr Hanson. I always have hope that Mr Hanson will become a decent person one day, but I continue to be disappointed.
Discussion concluded.
Administration and Procedure—Standing Committee
Proposed reference
Debate resumed.
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (4.04): I wanted to speak to Ms Lee’s very important motion today because I have noticed a change in attitude over my time here to members of the Legislative Assembly’s access to government schools. But, before I do, I just cannot go past some of the comments made by Minister Berry this morning. The one that really stood out to me reminded me of—I think probably most of us are too young to remember—an absolutely unbelievably excruciating train wreck of an interview between Joh Bjelke-Petersen and Richard Carleton where Richard Carleton asked Mr Bjelke-Petersen over and over again, “Mr Premier, what do you understand by separation of powers?” I do not think even in his wildest flight of fancy even Joh Bjelke-Petersen would have thought the issue of keeping duly elected members of parliament out of government-funded schools was an issue of separation of powers.
I think today we have seen a member of parliament describe her own ignorance in relation to the issue of separation of powers. This woman is a minister responsible for the education of people in the ACT and she ended up saying that members of parliament could not go to government schools because it was an issue of separation of power. Ms Berry needs to apologise to the people who have actually died or fought for the maintenance of the separation of powers and parliamentary justice across the world because she has just let them down, as she has let down the people of the ACT by her policies and approaches to letting members of this parliament have access to schools.
I have been around here for a long time. I was the shadow minister for education for a brief time but I also worked with members across the board in relation to educational matters. For instance, when Mr Doszpot was the shadow minister for education, successive ministers for education were courteous enough to let him and other members of the opposition visit schools, at appropriate times when the matter was organised appropriately with the school, with an official from the minister’s office or from the directorate.
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