Page 1677 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 18 May 1994
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Disillusionment may best sum up the council's position in the lead-up to the 1994-95 budget, a budget which will be delivered by the Chief Minister on 14 June. Despite substantial submissions in earlier years, little has been done. Rather than preparing yet another lengthy submission, the Council of P and C Associations has elected to write to the Government indicating that, as so little has been achieved in 1993-94, its submission for that year stands for 1994-95. That is a sad and unfortunate reflection on Labor Party policy, which states that - I will quote it again - "the education of young people remains the highest priority for Labor". So many initiatives in education called for by the Trades and Labour Council, the Australian Education Union and the P and C Council remain to be addressed. The Government has the opportunity in this year's budget to redress these longstanding issues in education, which will ensure quality learning outcomes for young people in government schools. I trust that these issues will finally be addressed in the Government's budget this year.
Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, it is not just a question of finding more resources for education. The Social Policy Committee of this Assembly has produced a unanimous report on the community and cultural use of schools, recommending substantive and urgent change to address a range of issues on which extensive agreement has been reached. The Government's response to this report, which we will debate more fully in the Assembly at a later date, says that the Department of Education and Training, which has already had four months to consider the issues, wants the rest of 1994 to further consider the issues and recommendations made by the committee. This is not an adequate response to recommendations made by the Assembly's Social Policy Committee. A substantial income from the community and cultural use of schools has the potential to reduce future demand for stand-alone community, sporting and recreational facilities, potentially saving the Government considerable amounts of money in the future.
Mr Wood: How much?
MS SZUTY: Considerable amounts. Another area of cost recovery which the Government has had its attention drawn to by my colleague Mr Moore and me is the continuing cost subsidy which is provided to students travelling to non-government schools and out-of-area government schools by bus. It is time that the Follett Labor Government addressed longstanding needs which have been well identified in government schools. It has the opportunity to do that in this year's budget, and I look forward to it so doing.
MR WOOD (Minister for Education and Training, Minister for the Arts and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning) (3.39): Ms Szuty has given a long historical exposition, as she is wont to do. She has not spoken to the MPI that stands on the paper in her name. The MPI refers to "the failure of the Follett Labor Government to improve and deliver quality learning outcomes". We heard a historical statement about what various policies had said over a period, but there was not one substantiated remark, claim or argument about any decline in what is happening in our schools. Ms Szuty simply did not speak to her MPI. She did no more than stand up and say, "Look, think about the budget that is coming down, and be nice to education". That is an accurate summary of Ms Szuty's speech. I know what the P and C Council says. I attend to what they say.
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