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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 5 Hansard (8 May) . . Page.. 1705 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

another 30 minutes was mandated for health education. Interestingly, that recommendation has stayed in. Indeed, the health education people were very keen to see that. It was the first time they felt they had been recognised by anyone.

The 150 minutes was arrived at by talking to all stakeholders, including the P&C, who actually came up with a breakdown around that figure. I can remember Ms Tucker-and Ms McRae, when she was here-being on the quite large committee I established to look at the best way forward. What came out then was what is accurately reported here in terms of compulsory physical exercise in schools.

I specifically wanted to get away from just competitive sport. That has its place. It should not be downgraded, and I think the report does try to have a downgrading. Maybe it is intellectual snobbery that I found in some people's reluctance to look at these issues in the education system-as if physical activity was a second grade thing rather than a priority. It is one of the eight key learning areas, after all.

But-Ms Tucker may remember-in the paper that was delivered and became policy, there was an annex C, which listed 60 or 70 activities, which people could go through. Kite flying was one of them, and there was the magnificent Rock Eisteddfod. A lot of kids are not remotely interested in playing organised sport but love that. As anyone can tell, you dance.

Ms Tucker has a wry look on her and, Ms Dundas, congratulations you were brilliant-and a few others. Mr Smyth partook in a dance yesterday. That was only 90 seconds, but if you are not fit that was good activity. If you did that all the time you would be a very fit person. That is why the Rock Eisteddfod was classed as physical activity in annex C, as I think it was, to that particular report.

The report tried to be as inclusive as possible, and it was not implemented in 1996 as it should have been because at the time there were some industrial problems. It was implemented in 1997. We had a look at it again in 2000 to make sure that schools were doing what they were meant to, and you have to keep them up to the mark because we had complaints that some were not. Some further improvements were made there.

I see a number of quotes from a Ms Easton, who raises the point that programs are not being done properly there, whatever her school is, because people have a range of different abilities. The main thing, if someone is not sportingly inclined and does not want to play competitive sport, is that it is all the more reason to give them at least the opportunity for good physical education training.

Obviously, in her case it could be done better. If she is improving by two minutes in a one-and-a-half kilometre run, that is magnificent. I can remember a very good fitness trainer by the name of Brian Burke, who used to terrify us. His statue is in the Queanbeyan Leagues Club. I think he was a five-eight or lock or something for Queanbeyan United. He used to run, in his 50s, from Queanbeyan to Fyshwick, where he worked at a bus depot. He was an incredibly fit bloke.

He also had the ability to pick out in any group people who were trying and those who were not. Reading Ms Easton's comments reminded me of Burkie at a rules training session, where all six grades were running around-120 blokes or so. There was one

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