Modbury Heights, South Australia
This transcript contains excerpts from the Community Cabinet meeting held in Modbury Heights on Thursday 19th of May 2011. A complete transcript of the Public Forum detailing all questions and answers can be found via the Community Cabinet links on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet homepage http://www.dpmc.gov.au/community_cabinet
Narrator: On Thursday the 19th of May the Government held a Community Cabinet meeting in Modbury Heights, Adelaide. The Community Cabinet program provides the Government with valuable first hand information in relation to emerging issues to the Australian public.
Public Forum footage extracts
School Principal: Good evening as principal of the Heights School, Helen Calvert, I'd like to welcome you all this evening and to thank you for attending . . . as a pre-school to Year 12 site we operate very much as a community of learners with a relentless focus on high achievement and quality education for all.
Lewis O'Brien: . . . . .On behalf of the Kaurna people I welcome you to Kaurna country and I do this as the ambassador of the Adelaide plains people, my brothers, my sisters let's work together in harmony. . . . .
Tony Zappia MP: . . . .Can I invite and welcome Prime Minister Julia Gillard to the lectern and in turn she will take over the proceedings from here. Thank you very much.
Prime Minister: Thank you very much to our local member Tony Zappia for that introduction, Helen (School Principal) thank you for having us in your very great school, and for making all of the arrangements possible. . . . . It's fantastic to be back in my home town, it's fantastic to be in the place where I went to school and where I learned my early values which are still driving me as Prime Minister today. . . . . .I'm sure you've got a million ideas that you want to convey to us and some questions to ask us we will move to taking your questions now.
Community Member 1: Why does the Government feel that it is acceptable to send asylum seekers arriving by boat to Malaysia?
Prime Minister: Thanks for that question and to put it at its most simple, what we want to do is break the people smuggling business model.
Community Member 2: When will you be implementing the recommendations regarding the National Disability Insurance Scheme?
Bill Shorten MP: The Commonwealth should expand its role and look at the feasibility of a National Disability Insurance Scheme
Community Member 3: Is your Government committed to reducing population growth and thereby alleviating some of the pressures on our cities?
Prime Minister: Our view is that we need to understand different needs in different parts of the country.
Footage of interviews with community members:
Community Member 4: It's an opportunity for me and some of my friends who I am here with to congratulate the Government on their efforts to try and price pollution.
Community Member 5: I have very major concerns about the way government funds education.
Community Member 6: I listened because sometimes it is important not to talk too much, but listening is very important.
Community Member 7: I felt very proud that as an Australian that we have this opportunity to not only meet with our members, but to ask questions.
Community Member 8: It's more of a face to face thing.
Community Member 9: It gets the community involved.
Community Member 10: I think that's what democracy is all about.
Footage concludes (3mins)