Mr STIRLING - 1996-02-27
Last week, the minister tried to drive a wedge between teachers and parents as part of his continued and deliberate escalation of the teachers' dispute. I refer the minister to an
Page 1221
interview on ABC radio and letters to newspapers by Mr Steven Carter, vice-president of the Council of Government Schools Organisations. Mr Carter has backed the teachers. He is concerned about the fall in the number of students training to be teachers, the national teacher shortage and the recruitment of teachers for the Northern Territory. He has supported union demands for resourced non-contact time and a separate enterprise bargaining process. He is concerned by the minister's use of inflammatory rhetoric and his escalation of the dispute. Despite these comments from the parents' organisation, last Thursday on ABC radio, the minister would not rule out standing teachers down. Why does the minister continue to show such little regard for the opinion of parents and their student children by continuing his mindless approach to this teachers' dispute?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I do not know of any employer, faced with provocative industrial action by a trade union, who would do otherwise than keep all their options open as to what they may need to do at some future time in reaction to that provocation. It is a fact that our department has taken no action against the teachers in relation to this dispute despite intense provocation and interference with the school delivery of education to students over a 6-month period. Certainly, we have taken action in relation to union officials. We have said that they may exercise their legal rights and no more. I do not regard that as particularly provocative. I believe it could be regarded as a muted response. Last week, members opposite were beating the drum of provocation and antagonism ...
Members interjecting.
Mr Bailey: He calls teachers Nazis and terrorists. What do the students in the gallery think of that?
Mr HATTON: It is a lie.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I did not catch the comment.
Mr HATTON: Mr Speaker, it was very hard to miss. I will not repeat it because it is a gross untruth.
Mr SPEAKER: If such a comment was made, I ask that it be withdrawn.
Mr BAILEY: Mr Speaker, the reference was in relation to comments made last week that the teachers could be compared to the Nazis invading Poland. He also called them terrorists. I was not referring to him. That is what he said about teachers. My comment was directed to the students in the gallery. He was referring to their teachers.
Mr HATTON: Mr Speaker, is it any wonder that people such as myself regard the member for Wanguri as one of the most dishonest politicians ...
Mr BELL: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The member for Nightcliff has to withdraw that. He can make such an allegation only by means of a substantive motion. He has been here long enough to know that.
Page 1222
Mr SPEAKER: I ask the minister to withdraw the remark.
Mr HATTON: The comment, Mr Speaker ...
Mr BELL: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The minister must withdraw unreservedly.
Mr SPEAKER: I ask the minister to withdraw without comment.
Mr HATTON: I certainly withdraw without reservation, Mr Speaker. I am sure it makes the honourable members feel so much better.
While they have been beating up this issue and attempting to generate antagonism ...
Mr Stirling: You are the one who said it was their fault ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HATTON: Mr Speaker, while all this fuss has been created by the opposition in an attempt to curry favour with a few union officials who are obviously their major financial supporters, throughout that entire period we had an offer in front of the trade union to resume negotiations on a series of points. That invitation was issued on the Friday before last and confirmed in writing last Monday. Interestingly, the Australian Education Union accepted that offer last Friday and negotiations commenced yesterday. There was a fairly successful negotiating process yesterday. We think we have nearly resolved the issue of the contract teachers. The union had left the negotiation before we had finished.
Mr Bailey: So you call them terrorists. You refer to them as Nazis.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HATTON: I will deal with the member for Wanguri once and for all on this. I did not refer to them as terrorists.
Mr Bailey: You did.
Mr HATTON: I referred to `terrorist activity' against the schools.
Mr Bailey: A terrorist is a person who carries out terrorist activity.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HATTON: It appears that the member for Wanguri is referring to teachers as terrorists in that comment.
Mr Bailey: No. You say they carry out terrorist activities.
Page 1223
Mr HATTON: Mr Speaker, the age of political correctness in language really is driving everybody batty. If you wish to use a simple metaphor, after a long period of attempting to find a solution in the face of provocation, and you finally say that you cannot seek appeasement all the time, suddenly that mob over there go loony. Let them go loony. I do not intend to be carried away about that. I was merely giving a metaphorical example.
Negotiations are under way. Hopefully, there will be a resolution. I believe it is a matter of sorting out 3 issues. One is to complete the negotiations with the contract teachers. It is pleasing to hear that the union has finally agreed to participate in the remote area review. This has been under way for months, but the teachers union refused to participate. It is now prepared to participate.
Mr Stirling: I am told that they did go to meetings.
Mr HATTON: We arranged the meetings, but they did not turn up.
The third issue is that the union claims that our non-contact time offer of 2 hours per week, mandated for every primary school teacher, and the additional resources that we are offering was not workable and not fair. We are following through on that offer, school by school, to demonstrate how it can be workable or to identify the problems they allege exist. That offer is there and the negotiations will be proceeding. We are seeking a resolution, but you are seeking to inflame. That is a fact.
Page 1224
Page 1221
interview on ABC radio and letters to newspapers by Mr Steven Carter, vice-president of the Council of Government Schools Organisations. Mr Carter has backed the teachers. He is concerned about the fall in the number of students training to be teachers, the national teacher shortage and the recruitment of teachers for the Northern Territory. He has supported union demands for resourced non-contact time and a separate enterprise bargaining process. He is concerned by the minister's use of inflammatory rhetoric and his escalation of the dispute. Despite these comments from the parents' organisation, last Thursday on ABC radio, the minister would not rule out standing teachers down. Why does the minister continue to show such little regard for the opinion of parents and their student children by continuing his mindless approach to this teachers' dispute?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I do not know of any employer, faced with provocative industrial action by a trade union, who would do otherwise than keep all their options open as to what they may need to do at some future time in reaction to that provocation. It is a fact that our department has taken no action against the teachers in relation to this dispute despite intense provocation and interference with the school delivery of education to students over a 6-month period. Certainly, we have taken action in relation to union officials. We have said that they may exercise their legal rights and no more. I do not regard that as particularly provocative. I believe it could be regarded as a muted response. Last week, members opposite were beating the drum of provocation and antagonism ...
Members interjecting.
Mr Bailey: He calls teachers Nazis and terrorists. What do the students in the gallery think of that?
Mr HATTON: It is a lie.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I did not catch the comment.
Mr HATTON: Mr Speaker, it was very hard to miss. I will not repeat it because it is a gross untruth.
Mr SPEAKER: If such a comment was made, I ask that it be withdrawn.
Mr BAILEY: Mr Speaker, the reference was in relation to comments made last week that the teachers could be compared to the Nazis invading Poland. He also called them terrorists. I was not referring to him. That is what he said about teachers. My comment was directed to the students in the gallery. He was referring to their teachers.
Mr HATTON: Mr Speaker, is it any wonder that people such as myself regard the member for Wanguri as one of the most dishonest politicians ...
Mr BELL: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The member for Nightcliff has to withdraw that. He can make such an allegation only by means of a substantive motion. He has been here long enough to know that.
Page 1222
Mr SPEAKER: I ask the minister to withdraw the remark.
Mr HATTON: The comment, Mr Speaker ...
Mr BELL: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The minister must withdraw unreservedly.
Mr SPEAKER: I ask the minister to withdraw without comment.
Mr HATTON: I certainly withdraw without reservation, Mr Speaker. I am sure it makes the honourable members feel so much better.
While they have been beating up this issue and attempting to generate antagonism ...
Mr Stirling: You are the one who said it was their fault ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HATTON: Mr Speaker, while all this fuss has been created by the opposition in an attempt to curry favour with a few union officials who are obviously their major financial supporters, throughout that entire period we had an offer in front of the trade union to resume negotiations on a series of points. That invitation was issued on the Friday before last and confirmed in writing last Monday. Interestingly, the Australian Education Union accepted that offer last Friday and negotiations commenced yesterday. There was a fairly successful negotiating process yesterday. We think we have nearly resolved the issue of the contract teachers. The union had left the negotiation before we had finished.
Mr Bailey: So you call them terrorists. You refer to them as Nazis.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HATTON: I will deal with the member for Wanguri once and for all on this. I did not refer to them as terrorists.
Mr Bailey: You did.
Mr HATTON: I referred to `terrorist activity' against the schools.
Mr Bailey: A terrorist is a person who carries out terrorist activity.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HATTON: It appears that the member for Wanguri is referring to teachers as terrorists in that comment.
Mr Bailey: No. You say they carry out terrorist activities.
Page 1223
Mr HATTON: Mr Speaker, the age of political correctness in language really is driving everybody batty. If you wish to use a simple metaphor, after a long period of attempting to find a solution in the face of provocation, and you finally say that you cannot seek appeasement all the time, suddenly that mob over there go loony. Let them go loony. I do not intend to be carried away about that. I was merely giving a metaphorical example.
Negotiations are under way. Hopefully, there will be a resolution. I believe it is a matter of sorting out 3 issues. One is to complete the negotiations with the contract teachers. It is pleasing to hear that the union has finally agreed to participate in the remote area review. This has been under way for months, but the teachers union refused to participate. It is now prepared to participate.
Mr Stirling: I am told that they did go to meetings.
Mr HATTON: We arranged the meetings, but they did not turn up.
The third issue is that the union claims that our non-contact time offer of 2 hours per week, mandated for every primary school teacher, and the additional resources that we are offering was not workable and not fair. We are following through on that offer, school by school, to demonstrate how it can be workable or to identify the problems they allege exist. That offer is there and the negotiations will be proceeding. We are seeking a resolution, but you are seeking to inflame. That is a fact.
Page 1224
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016