Page 521 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 20 February 2019
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I think there is a huge disparity between the philosophy of letting children choose their own adventure and us being responsible parents, guardians, carers and individuals with a duty of care over children, particularly in a classroom.
I have read stories, as I mentioned in my initial speech, where the principal’s response to a child who was the victim of incessant bullying was that it would build resilience. Isn’t this how we have come to have such an endemic problem with things such as domestic violence? Children are being taught at a young age to toughen up and accept what is going on. That, I cannot accept.
The minister has spoken of a $10 million investment into schools to improve safety. Let us not forget that this is the government that, once upon a time, was building a cage in a school to deal with a child. Millions have been spent since that incident as well, but the reality for children in classrooms and their parents is failing to deliver on the spin and the hyperbole that gets peddled in this place.
The minister suggested that it was the view of those in the opposition that children be removed from school in certain instances. Yes, I do believe that at times the perpetrators of serious violence or aggression should be removed from that environment. Where else in society can an individual act out in that kind of manner without any consequence?
For too long, schools have existed as a bubble, immune from the laws of the land. I think that there should be clear consequences to any perpetrator of this kind of abuse or violence in a school because it should not be up to the victim to just accept it. I do not think I want to live in a society, let alone represent a society, where we say to a victim, “Toughen up and learn to live with it.”
We all know, and we have all seen in this place, even just in the debate we had before this one, the glacial pace at which changes often occur. Policymakers, government, are slow at reacting. That is a fact of life. But for the individuals that are caught up in this on a daily basis, it is a lifetime.
I have here a letter that one of the mothers in the gallery has written—four pages, outlining the ordeal her son has been through. It started when he was in year 1; he is now in year 4. It started when he was a six-year-old; he is now a nine-year-old. This has been going on for one-third of his life—one-third. As his mother says, a nine-year-old child should not have to continue seeing a psychologist because they feel all hope is lost.
We saw emotion from the minister today; it is hitting me as well. As a parent, you expect better than this. The minister showed deep concern at these stories, as many of us feel. Let that impact on her be shown in the actions that these parents and these kids see in the classroom tomorrow morning. This is not about more talk. It is not about spending more money, or having more headlines and glossy programs. The measure of success of what this minister can do will be felt by those parents here in the gallery. I look forward to seeing that situation change for them.
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