School Christmas Concerts

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (14:33): Further supplementary: is the Marshall government now saying that schools do not have the freedom of choice to decide when their end-of-year celebrations shall be held?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:33): Union bosses and schools can decide what they want, but they will have to defend the community outrage and the parent outrage that is engendered by those particular decisions. In the end, you have to be answerable for the decisions you make. The Andrew Coles and Howard Spreadburys of this world, and the Labor Party, and other members in this chamber, who want to defend the union boss grinches who are pinching Christmas from the poor kids in the primary schools of Adelaide, shame on them for, in essence, inflicting that pain and grief on young children who work hard to do the Christmas concert for their parents and their grandparents, and to have that snatched away from the out-of-touch grinches within the union movement—

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Point of order: the answers given to the supplementaries were already in the public domain, because they were exactly the same nonsensical shouting that the minister had given in the original answer.

The PRESIDENT: Treasurer, be warned; I am hot on information in the public arena. The Hon. Ms Franks, you had the call—not for a supplementary—you actually had the call for a question.