Page 2184 - Week 06 - Thursday, 6 June 2019
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Administration and Procedure—Standing Committee
Report 12
MS J BURCH (Brindabella) (10.13): I present the following report:
Administration and Procedure—Standing Committee—Report 12—Protocols for Visits by Members to Government Schools, dated 6 June 2019, together with a copy of the extracts of the relevant minutes of proceedings.
MR WALL (Brindabella) (10.14): I move:
That the report be noted.
I thank the members who took the time to make a submission to this inquiry. It was a bit of an unorthodox committee inquiry. While the issue of whether the existing protocol contravenes the members code of conduct was really only touched on by one submission, extensive views and opinions were canvassed by members on the way the existing protocol operates and, in many instances, some inflexibility in its operation, particularly around a member’s attendance at public events.
I commend the work that was done by the committee and all members who contributed to it. The recommendations that we see largely call on the Education Directorate to adopt a visits protocol similar to that in the Justice and Community Safety Directorate and likewise that schools be free to invite members from all sides to public events that they are hosting, as issues were raised around attendance at school fetes and the like potentially being incompatible with the existing protocol without ministerial permission.
The opposition will be seeking today to adjourn this debate. We will look to bring the motion back once the minister has had a chance to review these recommendations, and next sitting we will seek to move a motion that they be adopted by the minister. We will seek an adjournment to this debate once other members have had a chance to speak.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (10.16): I add my support for these findings. The education minister is actually on the administration and procedure committee, so the committee came to this with some relevant perspectives on the matter.
This is a matter to be careful on. I have spoken to Minister Berry about this matter at times. It is very important that we do not create a free-for-all in our schools. Their job is to get on with educating children. They do not need members wandering through all the time. But, equally, it is appropriate that members be able to visit schools. Frankly, I do not think this is a matter that the minister needs to consider. I think we can have clear protocols in place and the directorate can deal with it.
There is a useful distinction drawn in the report between visiting during school hours—for example, for an official visit—versus things like public events such as fetes or end-of-year concerts where the broader public is invited anyway. There is no
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