Page 1272 - Week 05 - Thursday, 31 May 2007
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These failures go to the heart of our fundamental concern. Our fundamental concern is this: this minister has a duty of care towards the children and the youth of this territory. He must not only be on his game in this place to debate transparently and tell the truth but also be able to put the fear of God into his department to ensure that his department is responsive on very serious issues affecting the safety of our children. This minister has failed, and that is why he should be censured.
MR STANHOPE (Ginninderra—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Business and Economic Development, Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Minister for the Environment, Water and Climate Change, Minister for the Arts) (11.32): The government, of course, will not be supporting this motion. I share the concerns expressed by the minister for education in relation to the inappropriateness of airing this particular issue in this way. It is not fair to the school, it is not fair to public education, it is not fair to the children involved, it is not fair to their families, and it is not fair to the police.
It really is a grubby exercise in political point scoring to elevate this incredibly difficult issue, which is a feature of our society, in this way—to seek to make it a matter of scandal, to make it a matter of scandal, to spread alarm, to denigrate the public education system, and to highlight and heighten the trauma that these children have suffered. It really is unfortunate. Everything that the minister has said in relation to this is absolutely correct. It was completely unnecessary for this issue to be raised and highlighted in this way. The minister and the department have handled this in an exemplary way. The parents and the students have handled it with maturity and appropriately.
Your elevation of this issue in this way is to seek to score a political point against the minister for education because he embarrassed you so soundly in question time yesterday with the seven Dorothys that you asked. That caused you to come back today to try to make the point that you could not make through seven questions yesterday—including, as we have all noticed, the first question this year on education by the shadow minister for education in this Assembly. That gives some indication of the regard which Mrs Dunne has for issues around education, and most particularly public education.
This motion is a direct attack on public education and on teachers within our public system. You are attacking the minister today because your attempts at attack yesterday failed so dismally. You really do not care about public education. You have no emotional attachment to or support for public education or those that use that particular system.
Heightening the outrage that I feel in relation to this motion is the utter hypocrisy—that Mrs Dunne, of all people in this Assembly, should move this motion this week in light of her behaviour in question time on Tuesday. Mrs Dunne misled this Assembly in question time on Tuesday.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Withdraw.
MR STANHOPE: I withdraw that, Mr Speaker. I move the amendment circulated in my name.
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