Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 3822 ..

MR OSBORNE (continuing):

I want my children to respect everybody, no matter where they come from. It is sad, as I said, that we are even debating it. It is even sadder that some people have tried to score cheap political points over it, and I am sure that they will be exposed.

MR MOORE (10.48): Mr Speaker, in rising to support this motion I thought I would relate a small anecdote about my family. My son, who is in kindergarten, was at home one day and we were trying to recall the name of one of his classmates. We ran through a series of things such as, "The girl who sits down in the corner of your class". No, that did not help. "She has curly hair". That did not help. "In fact, she has black curly hair". No, that still did not get there. "In fact, she has black skin". No, that did not help. Anyway, some hours passed and one of us remembered the name. I do not recall the name, but let us say it was Rowena. Somebody said, "It is Rowena". Another hour or so passed and our kindergarten child came in to us and said, "Yes, she does have black skin, doesn't she". I thought that we could learn a great lesson from that. It simply had not occurred to him that there was any particular difference. The kids in the class were different. They looked different. Some were a bit taller; some were a bit shorter; some wore slightly different clothes or had different haircuts or whatever. This was just another one of those factors. I think the lesson from that statement from our kindergarten child - "Yes, she does have black skin, doesn't she" - really tells the whole story of tolerance. It is that sort of tolerance that we need, and it is that sort of tolerance that I hope for in supporting this motion.

Question put:

That the amendment (Mr Humphries's) to Mr Whitecross's amendment be agreed to.

The Assembly voted -

AYES, 11	 NOES, 6

Mrs Carnell	Mr Berry
Mr Cornwell	Ms Follett
Mr De Domenico	Ms McRae
Mr Hird		Ms Reilly
Ms Horodny	Mr Whitecross
Mr Humphries	Mr Wood
Mr Kaine
Mr Moore
Mr Osborne
Mr Stefaniak
Ms Tucker

Amendment (Mr Whitecross's), as amended, agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .