Debates Day 2 - Wednesday 23 November 1994
Parliamentary Record 6
Debates for 7th Assembly 1994 - 1997; ParliamentNT; Parliamentary Record; 7th Assembly 1994 - 1997
1994-11-23
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
English
Debates
Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
Darwin
application/pdf
Attribution International 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)
Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/281606
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/414128
DEBATES - Wednesday 23 November 1994 evidence, so to speak. Amendments to the Domestic Violence Act, passed in the last sittings, also strengthen protection for family members. Once again, I applaud the minister for canvassing a wide range o f issues in his statement. However, there are many others that need to be considered. I take exception to the member for Nelsons suggestion that the minister was other than tough on parents in his statement. The attitudes he has expressed about parental responsibility could not possibly lead anyone to think him other than a staunch advocate o f family responsibility ... Mrs Padgham-Purich: He did not say that in the statement. He is too soft on parents. M r FINCH: Not everyone can express the feeling as strongly as you might like, coming from your very well-known position, and I do not denigrate that position. M r Speaker, at times the member for Nelson oversimplifies matters to the extent that she seems to turn her back on any attempt to utilise technology, government programs or other methods that attempt to provide additional safety nets for those members o f the community who very obviously need them. Frankly, I believe they are a minority but, where people are irresponsible, safety nets are needed and government programs meet that need. In closing, the member for Braitling covered the inopportune remarks by the member for Barkly about education, Silver Bullets and other matters. The Northern Territory is far in front o f any other community in Australia when it comes to education, in terms o f both facilities and resources, and it does not matter what measure is used to judge that. It is inappropriate for the member for Barkly to go crook about the rapidly diminishing number o f Silver Bullets. They serve a purpose and the function for which they were developed originally is still valid in many areas. In one region, I could show honourable members 3 formal school buildings at an outstation, one o f which has never been used and the other 2 o f which have been used only for a very short period. Quite frankly, it is rather easier to follow some o f those outstation movements with a Silver Bullet than it is to cater for them with bricks and mortar. It was a nonsensical comment from the member for Barkly and I wish she would do her homework for a change and be reasonable and balanced in her support o f the very effective programs o f this government. Mr BAILEY (Wanguri): Mr Speaker, I applaud the minister for delivering a statement today in relation to Kidsafe and child safety. I would like to pick up some comments in the statement and a few others made by previous speakers in this debate. I will also add a couple o f my own. The Attorney-General has covered the suitability o f toys to various age groups as one o f the criteria. He said that often toys bought by older children are accessible to younger ones. Another area o f concern is with toys that have obvious appeal for younger children. To circumvent regulations, they may be marketed ostensibly as being suitable for children over 3 years o f age or 5 years of age although parents or children would see them as appealing to a younger group. These may be toys with small parts that could be dangerous in the hands o f very young children. While they may carry a warning indicating that they are suitable only for children over 5 years o f age, they may well appeal to 2- or 3-year-olds. That is an area where vigilance must be maintained. 1815