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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 12 Hansard (12 November) . . Page.. 3460 ..

MRS DUNNE (4.42): Mr Speaker, we have come here a year after we were sworn in to mark the first year of the Stanhope government, and look at its pathetic performance, its litany of broken promises and the vain attempts of people like Mr Stanhope and Mr Quinlan to justify their inaction.

When I came to consider the last year of the Stanhope government, I was put in mind of what a headmaster might write about the top boys in the school. I will move first to the head prefect-young Jon Stanhope. What does the headmaster say about him? Young Jon was very pleased at becoming the head prefect, but since-

MR SPEAKER: Mrs Dunne, please use the minister's proper title.

MRS DUNNE: Since taking up his position, he has not managed to get over the novelty of the situation. He has not actually done anything, with his privileged position, to further the wellbeing of the school and the school body. It seems that the headmaster thinks young Jon is easily distracted, has private enthusiasms and a short-term attention span.

Looking at what the headmaster says about the rest of the class, he turns to young Edward Quinlan-young Ted. I cannot call him the deputy head boy, because the Speaker will get upset. We do know that the headmaster has said that young Ted lacks spark, and that his energy levels need to be lifted.

MR SPEAKER: Mrs Dunne, I have asked you to use the proper titles for members. Derisory comments like that are unacceptable. I think you know that they are contrary to standing orders. So please refer to members with their proper titles.

MRS DUNNE: It is an upper-class school. As I have said, Mr Quinlan lacks spark and his energy levels need to be lifted. There is a note from the school nurse, who wonders whether Ted is getting too much yeast or something in his diet. His parents or guardian should look at his diet, because he has unusual mood swings and tends to fly off the handle, from time to time. He is not too interested in many of the responsibilities he is given, but he does show an unnatural interest in horses.

As for Mr Wood, we see that he is a repeat boy in this class. He has had this position before. He is familiar with the work and, for the most part, we would expect more from him.

The youngest member of the group is the enthusiastic Mr Corbell. He likes to look busy all the time. But the emphasis on Mr Corbell's work is more on quantity than on quality. Despite a high output, Mr Corbell has a few behavioural problems. He has a propensity to insist on his own way, and shows a complete incapacity to negotiate-he tends to bully. He has an inflated sense of his own self-importance and will not talk to classmates who need to speak to him. There is a flurry of activity around what Mr Corbell does, which leaves his teachers, his colleagues and the whole school community in a whirl.

The school nurse raises the point that perhaps we should cut back on the red cordial in his diet. Generally speaking, the headmaster is of the view that the class is too small and that a gender mix might improve the outputs.

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