Personal Explanation

MINISTER'S REMARKS

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (16:30): I seek leave to make a personal explanation.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Does the member claim to have been misrepresented?

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Yes.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Yesterday, Madam Deputy Speaker, you invited me to make a personal explanation if I thought I had been misrepresented. You may recall that I asked you to read the Hansard to see whether, in your view, I had been misrepresented. I now take the opportunity to clarify for the record what was said yesterday, because I believe the minister misrepresented what I said. During the debate on the bill we have just passed, I said the following:

I have to say that it is my experience in life that it is a person's energy, determination and attitude that actually will determine their station in life. Education plays one part in that.

The minister then said, in referring to my comments, as follows:

What was his line? They don't have the energy, therefore, perhaps, we should just abandon them. These people are not good enough; they don't have the energy.

That is one point on which I called the minister a liar, Madam Deputy Speaker, and you made me retract. I think that in any fair reading of the Hansard I did not say that the students did not have energy, and I did not say that we should abandon them. At no stage did I make those comments. I made an observation that it is a combination of things, not just education, that helps people get to their station in life. Then there was a second issue, Madam Deputy Speaker. I made the point that:

One of the approved learning programs is volunteer work and, when we get to the committee stage, I would be interested to see how volunteer work fits into this particular program.

The minister said in her answer:

There have been criticisms of the sorts of approved learning programs we should have with—shock, horror—they might be volunteering.

There was no criticism in my contribution, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I just make the point—and I stand by the comment I made—that I believe that I was misrepresented. I have appreciated the opportunity to correct the record and, if the minister wishes to correct the record at any stage, she can do so.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member's last comments were not necessary. The member for Davenport has made his point.