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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 4 Hansard (18 April) . . Page.. 1085 ..

MR SPEAKER: It is an extremely tenuous connection. Mr Humphries, if you want to take it on board as well, do so. I will leave it to you. I do remind members that there has to be some connection, not tenuous, between the supplementary question and the original question.

MS HORODNY: The connection is there with other members in this Assembly. Unfortunately, there is no connection there with the Liberal Party.

MR SPEAKER: I will leave it to Mr Humphries.

MR HUMPHRIES: I will take that on notice, Mr Speaker.

Charnwood High School - Basketball Courts

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Education and Training, Mr Stefaniak. It is about a matter of serious concern to the Belconnen community, particularly Charnwood residents, that access to local sports facilities has been cut because of the destruction of the two basketball courts at Charnwood High School.

MR SPEAKER: Ask your question, Mr Berry.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, a preamble in the asking of a question is not ruled out, as far as I can see from the standing orders.

MR SPEAKER: Lengthy ones are.

MR BERRY: Of particular concern is the dismissive and ill-informed attitude of both Ministers involved. The pathetic initial response to the damage to those basketball courts was that the equipment had been stolen, would you believe. To demonstrate the shallowness of this initial response, it was not even reported to the police. It was alleged that it was stolen, but that was not serious enough to be reported to the police. Now that it has been discovered that the destruction of this sports facility was fully authorised, will the Minister apologise to the Belconnen community for his failure to prevent the disabling of this valuable community sports facility by stealth?

Mr Humphries: A basketball hoop.

MR BERRY: Mr Humphries laughs. Young people in Charnwood have been deprived of a valuable sporting facility because it has been destroyed with the authority of the Government.

MR SPEAKER: We have 11/2 questions so far, Mr Berry.

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