Page 2412 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 7 August 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
SCHOOL CLOSURES
Discussion of Matter of Public Importance
MR ACTING SPEAKER: I have received a letter from Mr Wood proposing that a matter of public importance be submitted to the Assembly for discussion, namely:
The Alliance Government's decision to close schools has been taken with a total disregard for community interest and with a lack of any careful or accurate planning.
The result of this action will
1. Bring no significant savings in school expenditure;
2. Cause distress to children;
3. Disrupt their education; and
4. Damage the social infrastructure of suburban life.
In view of the enormous damage done for no gain, the closures cannot be justified.
MR WOOD (3.17): Mr Acting Speaker, I was pleased to hear you read that out, saddened though I am by the content of that motion. The Government is in the process of making a number of very bad decisions. To compound that, the processes it has used to make those decisions are badly flawed. At the same time the data it has used is also flawed.
The problems which this Government and the 10 people who sit on that side of the house are bringing upon themselves start from that strange mix of ideologies that occupies those benches. Their decisions begin from that problematic starting point. The No Self Government Party, now called the Independents Group - - -
Ms Follett: Liberals, they are Liberals, some of them.
MR WOOD: Some of them are. They came into this parliament elected to close down self-government. That is what they campaigned on. I believe I can remember statements they made after that, that they would give general support to the institutions in this city. Nowhere in all their propaganda before the election was there any suggestion of closing schools - nowhere.
The Residents Rally was rather more forceful. Its members came into the election campaign not with a promise to close schools - indeed not - but with strong support for education, with a promise to increase education spending by $7.2m. That ought to be said every day of the week to these people. With this gross deceit, with this repudiation of their promises and disregard of any integrity, it is no wonder that politicians in Australia, generally, are held in such low regard. This dishonourable
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .