Page 2432 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 7 August 1990
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They did not know about the 50 Page children who were being moved for the second time in 2 years following the Page school closure.
And so it goes on. We also have a submission from Rivett school where they have gone through point by point and refuted every item, every item in the rationale for the closure of their school. The Government has got every fact wrong in that regard. The enrolments have been projected by the Government to have fallen to 252. Rivett says no, they are 288. Why are they 288? Because the Government forgot about the 26 special needs children. Just wipe them; forget them. Who cares? You obviously do not.
The Government has even nominated the wrong roads for the children to cross. It has left those children from the Rivett school crossing some extremely busy and dangerous roads and has it costed in a crossing for them? No, it has not; nor has it been able to answer how it would do it.
Mr Acting Speaker, the community holds this whole process in contempt. Community members are disillusioned. They know that in taking on a so-called consultation process the Government has only sought to hoodwink them, has given them insufficient information and has not acted upon any of the legitimate hard work that these community groups have done to try to make this Government opposite care a bit about our school system.
We have heard from Mr Duby about how much he cares. He does not think it is a matter of public importance. He must have been asleep at the time. He has been asleep for the past six months.
Mr Acting Speaker, in finishing off I would just like to have a look at the people who will suffer most, the children. There will also be an impact on local business as there has been where schools have closed, but those who will suffer most are those who are the least able to defend themselves. They are the children from the Weetangera hearing impaired unit, the special needs children at Rivett, the children at Macquarie in the Independent Living Centre and so on. They are the people that this Government has completely overlooked.
MR ACTING SPEAKER: The debate on the matter of public importance is now concluded.
LEAVE OF ABSENCE TO SPEAKER
MR ACTING SPEAKER: Before Mr Collaery continues I wish to make a statement. At the commencement of questions without notice the Leader of the Opposition asked me a question concerning the absence of the Speaker and his attendance at the current regional seminar of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. I would advise you that Mr
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