Page 4773 - Week 15 - Thursday, 8 December 1994
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS - STANDING COMMITTEE
Report on Review of Auditor-General's Report No. 6 of 1993
Debate resumed from 15 September 1994, on motion by Mr Kaine:
That the report be noted.
MR MOORE (10.51): Madam Speaker, these are very important reports from the Auditor-General and the Public Accounts Committee. There are some particularly important recommendations from the Public Accounts Committee that I hope the Minister will respond to. Madam Speaker, one of the most critical issues is the Labor Party promise to provide more counsellors to schools. You will recall that that promise was made at the last election and it has been delivered by Mr Wood. However, if you look at the big picture, Madam Speaker, there was effectively then a reduction in full-time student counsellors. Paragraph 9.18 of the committee's report reads:
The Committee recommends that:
the Department of Education and Training examine ways of providing schools with additional full time student counsellors.
Madam Speaker, the issue of teacher professional development was also dealt with, and I believe that the committee's recommendation - that the Government ensure that appropriate professional development is provided - is a critical one. The ACT Education Department provides the least per capita training of any government department. It should provide the most because, after all, we are dealing with students. Madam Speaker, I am going to keep my speech brief, as I have been through those sorts of issues before. I am sure that Mr Wood agrees with me about the need for professional development for teachers, particularly with an ageing teacher profile within our service. It is important for teachers to keep up their professional standards and standing, to understand what is going on and what is new. The only outcome of that is that our students can benefit. Madam Speaker, as you would realise, the professional development of teachers invariably reflects right across both the private and the public sectors. I think that is one of the issues that the Public Accounts Committee took into account in recommending that all children in the ACT can benefit from that. There is a whole series of recommendations in the report that I hope the Minister will have positive responses to.
The other recommendation that I would like to draw attention to - I cannot find it, but I know that we made it - is about the packages that were being provided for teachers. They assisted the Government to contain its budget and also provided new life and a new morale in the teaching service as young teachers were able to be employed. Madam Speaker, it is imperative that that continue and that packages be offered to senior teachers, namely, principals and deputy principals. I think there is still a great inadequacy in that very good program. It will not only improve morale but also save us money.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .