Page 997 - Week 04 - Thursday, 7 May 2020
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What is so fundamental through this process of extreme anxiety for our community is that, as much as possible––recognising that we are all political creatures, we are all politicians and we have all run for office––we try to give clear and consistent messages to our community. At times that means giving a little, compromising and working within that framework, which is exactly what the ACT has done within the national cabinet context and in our relationship with New South Wales.
I do not always agree with everything that Premier Berejiklian says and some of the decisions that they have implemented, but I have tried incredibly hard to work collaboratively, both with her government and within the national cabinet context, and there have been times when that has not been appropriate: fining people for buying a kebab after they have been for a run and sitting in the park by themselves. That is where we have clearly been different. But what we have been doing is working together, all the jurisdictions in the national cabinet, on an approach to schooling.
Where we stand today, there are no children at school on the eastern seaboard, but progressively, over the next three to four weeks, students will be returning. The process that the Deputy Chief Minister has outlined gives people notice and is very clear. Yes, it is important that we can get things back to normal as soon as possible, but normal living with COVID-19 is different. We have to be cognisant of that in our future planning. And this is a fast-changing environment.
The process that we will be going through in the coming days, weeks and months will be about tentative steps forward, making some changes, testing, evaluating, seeing what happens and, hopefully, being able to take the next step forward. That is what all governments in Australia are working towards. That is what we hope to achieve in education, just as we do in every other industry sector and every other area of life. This is a once in a century event. It requires mature, adult leadership.
We are very lucky in this country, compared to some others in the world, including some of our close allies. We do not have our political leaders suggesting that you might inject disinfectant and that might be a cure-all, and we do not have people on the streets carrying guns and demanding the end to lockdowns. We should be very thankful that we live in this country and that, through the national cabinet, we have a good process, one of the best in the world, to manage this pandemic as it relates to schools. I commend the approach of the Deputy Chief Minister and support the amendment.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (3.42): The Greens welcome the motion on the provision of public education to Canberra’s students because it is important that these matters are discussed. We know it is an issue of real interest to our community, and it requires careful consideration of and reflection on what we can and cannot do, what we should or should not be doing. It is certainly something that our community is very focused on.
It is no exaggeration to say that the decisions of the government regarding schools and education have been some of the most momentous in a time of a lot of unprecedented firsts, as we as a nation and a territory respond to the challenges of a public health
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