Mrs BRAHAM - 1995-05-17
Last week, the federal government decided to cut a series of programs from the education portfolio. I am concerned that some of these cuts will affect some of our small schools in remote communities. Is it true that these cuts will have a negative effect in remote communities in the Territory?
Page 538
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I understand the concern of the honourable member who has had, for many years, an interest in education matters. Probably what she recognises more sharply is the dismal failure of Hon Warren Snowdon, the Labor Party's member for the Northern Territory, a bloke who has never achieved anything on behalf of his constituents in the Northern Territory. He talks and crows, and issues thousands of press releases. He is the man with the plaque problem. He has to get his name on every possible plaque that is being laid or fixed to a building and somebody else's ...
Mr Ede: Got your name on ...
Mr FINCH: Not mine. I do not have a fetish about plaques, I can tell you, but I do have a problem with the member for the Northern Territory, and I am not alone there. I ask the member for Nhulunbuy to indicate whether he has trouble getting the member for the Northern Territory to obtain one ounce of progress on behalf of Territorians. As a representative and as a lobbyist, he is a dismal failure. But when it comes ...
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr FINCH: A dismal failure! When it comes to matters that he ought to have even more control over or influence on - that is, education and employment - it is really a crying shame.
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Mr FINCH: It is disgraceful! Given that he is Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Employment, Education and Training, one could be excused for thinking that he would at least look after Territorians. What he has done of course ...
Mr Bell interjecting.
Mr FINCH: The member for MacDonnell would be a little interested in this because he has a bush electorate. When those bush people, who, as he knows, rely enormously ...
Mr Bell interjecting.
Mr Ede: How many secondary classes would there be out there if it were not for him? What about asking that ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr FINCH: The Leader of the Opposition joins the member for MacDonnell. I wanted to get them both to join in this debate because they both have bush electorates.
Mr Ede: A debate, is it? Beauty, let us have a debate!
Page 539
Mr FINCH: You can have a debate with Snowdon because he is the problem. Let me tell you about the education centres in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Nhulunbuy that service the bush schools, and provide the additional resources and support, including professional support. What has happened? They have been in operation for a little over 20 years and have been half-funded by the Commonwealth for 20 years. What has happened to their little pittance of half funding? Overnight, it has been withdrawn. Thus, the 8 or 10 people operating in Alice Springs, who have provided valuable support to the schools in the electorates of the member for Stuart and the member for MacDonnell, have gone. Did he tell people about that in his big pronouncements when the budget interviews were held? No wonder he mumbled and fumbled his way through the interview with Fred McCue the other morning - he did not tell people about that.
He did not tell them about the support for rural students in boarding schools, such as St Philip's College, where they will no longer have the benefit of those supervisors, superintendents, and house parents for them to be able to become sufficiently qualified and experienced, if you like, to look after those bush kids. It might not be a big deal, but it has gone. What about the support for our teachers in professional development? Historically, teachers have been able to have their HECS fees and whatever waived on account of their professional development and returning that knowledge back into the education system. I thought that was quite a reasonable program. Did he say that he has wiped that $50 000-worth from the Northern Territory for our teachers to be able to improve their skills and abilities? Did he say anything about that? No, he did not.
Mr Ede: Did you ask him about it?
Mr FINCH: I asked him about it, all right. I have a long list, and we do not know half of it yet.
What about the gifted and talented children program? It has gone. The clever country? We do not have a very clever member for the Northern Territory, nor a very clever federal government because they have turned their backs on the gifted and talented. What about our gender equity program? As I understand it, this does not have an enormous impact on the Northern Territory because we are well on the way to gender equity but, as a national program, do members opposite think that gender equity is a ...
Mr Ede interjecting.
Mr FINCH: What about the member for Barkly? Let's hear her comments about Warren Snowdon's deeds here.
Mrs Hickey: We do all right out of Warren Snowdon.
Mr FINCH: We have not reached employment and training, but I will deliberately leave it at that. However, out of the One Nation program for making jobs and training, this current federal budget announces a $1200m cut. Does the federal government think it is all over? Does it think its objective of 8% unemployment nationally is good enough?
Mr Stirling: That is not the agenda.
Page 540
Mr FINCH: What about the representations made to Warren Snowdon by groups in this town?
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr FINCH: Listen to me! You know you were a failure in your attempt to get Snowdon to obtain some assistance for the construction people at Nhulunbuy. You had to approach him publicly, and he tried to humiliate you. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for sticking up for him. Why do you stick up for him in this House when you were not game to have a go at him? You are gutless. He took the mickey out of you nicely. What an embarrassment you are to the people you represent.
Let me tell you, Mr Speaker, that I have come nowhere near yet to scratching the surface of what the federal government has done to employment and training, but I do know of one group in this town at least which does look after some disadvantaged youth in terms of its programs. Snowdon was making very big noises about how he would look after them. Ask what they will do after 1 July this year. It is not very far away and, if the member for Nhulunbuy thinks that is good enough from his Labor mate in Canberra, it is not good enough for me, I can tell him that.
Page 541
Page 538
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I understand the concern of the honourable member who has had, for many years, an interest in education matters. Probably what she recognises more sharply is the dismal failure of Hon Warren Snowdon, the Labor Party's member for the Northern Territory, a bloke who has never achieved anything on behalf of his constituents in the Northern Territory. He talks and crows, and issues thousands of press releases. He is the man with the plaque problem. He has to get his name on every possible plaque that is being laid or fixed to a building and somebody else's ...
Mr Ede: Got your name on ...
Mr FINCH: Not mine. I do not have a fetish about plaques, I can tell you, but I do have a problem with the member for the Northern Territory, and I am not alone there. I ask the member for Nhulunbuy to indicate whether he has trouble getting the member for the Northern Territory to obtain one ounce of progress on behalf of Territorians. As a representative and as a lobbyist, he is a dismal failure. But when it comes ...
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr FINCH: A dismal failure! When it comes to matters that he ought to have even more control over or influence on - that is, education and employment - it is really a crying shame.
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Mr FINCH: It is disgraceful! Given that he is Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Employment, Education and Training, one could be excused for thinking that he would at least look after Territorians. What he has done of course ...
Mr Bell interjecting.
Mr FINCH: The member for MacDonnell would be a little interested in this because he has a bush electorate. When those bush people, who, as he knows, rely enormously ...
Mr Bell interjecting.
Mr Ede: How many secondary classes would there be out there if it were not for him? What about asking that ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr FINCH: The Leader of the Opposition joins the member for MacDonnell. I wanted to get them both to join in this debate because they both have bush electorates.
Mr Ede: A debate, is it? Beauty, let us have a debate!
Page 539
Mr FINCH: You can have a debate with Snowdon because he is the problem. Let me tell you about the education centres in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Nhulunbuy that service the bush schools, and provide the additional resources and support, including professional support. What has happened? They have been in operation for a little over 20 years and have been half-funded by the Commonwealth for 20 years. What has happened to their little pittance of half funding? Overnight, it has been withdrawn. Thus, the 8 or 10 people operating in Alice Springs, who have provided valuable support to the schools in the electorates of the member for Stuart and the member for MacDonnell, have gone. Did he tell people about that in his big pronouncements when the budget interviews were held? No wonder he mumbled and fumbled his way through the interview with Fred McCue the other morning - he did not tell people about that.
He did not tell them about the support for rural students in boarding schools, such as St Philip's College, where they will no longer have the benefit of those supervisors, superintendents, and house parents for them to be able to become sufficiently qualified and experienced, if you like, to look after those bush kids. It might not be a big deal, but it has gone. What about the support for our teachers in professional development? Historically, teachers have been able to have their HECS fees and whatever waived on account of their professional development and returning that knowledge back into the education system. I thought that was quite a reasonable program. Did he say that he has wiped that $50 000-worth from the Northern Territory for our teachers to be able to improve their skills and abilities? Did he say anything about that? No, he did not.
Mr Ede: Did you ask him about it?
Mr FINCH: I asked him about it, all right. I have a long list, and we do not know half of it yet.
What about the gifted and talented children program? It has gone. The clever country? We do not have a very clever member for the Northern Territory, nor a very clever federal government because they have turned their backs on the gifted and talented. What about our gender equity program? As I understand it, this does not have an enormous impact on the Northern Territory because we are well on the way to gender equity but, as a national program, do members opposite think that gender equity is a ...
Mr Ede interjecting.
Mr FINCH: What about the member for Barkly? Let's hear her comments about Warren Snowdon's deeds here.
Mrs Hickey: We do all right out of Warren Snowdon.
Mr FINCH: We have not reached employment and training, but I will deliberately leave it at that. However, out of the One Nation program for making jobs and training, this current federal budget announces a $1200m cut. Does the federal government think it is all over? Does it think its objective of 8% unemployment nationally is good enough?
Mr Stirling: That is not the agenda.
Page 540
Mr FINCH: What about the representations made to Warren Snowdon by groups in this town?
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Mr FINCH: Listen to me! You know you were a failure in your attempt to get Snowdon to obtain some assistance for the construction people at Nhulunbuy. You had to approach him publicly, and he tried to humiliate you. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for sticking up for him. Why do you stick up for him in this House when you were not game to have a go at him? You are gutless. He took the mickey out of you nicely. What an embarrassment you are to the people you represent.
Let me tell you, Mr Speaker, that I have come nowhere near yet to scratching the surface of what the federal government has done to employment and training, but I do know of one group in this town at least which does look after some disadvantaged youth in terms of its programs. Snowdon was making very big noises about how he would look after them. Ask what they will do after 1 July this year. It is not very far away and, if the member for Nhulunbuy thinks that is good enough from his Labor mate in Canberra, it is not good enough for me, I can tell him that.
Page 541
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016