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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 8 Hansard (19 August) . . Page.. 2849 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

But one of the things I want to comment on is this: I don't think a $1,000 difference in salary will in itself make the huge difference that we need to make if we want to see more people becoming teachers and see teachers stay and be teachers. It is, of course, an indicator, though, of how we value teachers in our society-and I'm not undermining the importance of it-but I do think the picture needs to be broadened somewhat.

There is just one other comment I'd make about salaries and what professions are rewarded in this community. It's unfortunately still the case that the employment market is focused on short-term profits, and accountants, business managers and corporate lawyers are unreasonably rewarded ahead of important professions such as teaching and nursing.

The ACT teaching service is not alone in Australia in having an ageing workforce, and Australia is not alone in the developed world in struggling to fill the ranks with new teachers. And in that context it is interesting to see actually in developing countries how intelligent young people do want to become a teacher and see it often as one of the best contributions they can make to their society. So salaries are not the be-all and end-all when it comes to job attractiveness and satisfaction, but the relativities of pay does speak volumes.

Indeed, while we're on the topic of salaries, I would like to remind the Assembly that the people who work in the community sector are miles behind nurses and teachers when it comes to salaries and working conditions. The fact that the community sector plays a vital role in creating a responsive and innovative society is ironic when you look at the continual loss of expertise in that sector because of the salaries that are offered in that sector. They move on to private and public.

The problem of the status of teachers, which we are addressing in this discussion as well, is just the tip of the iceberg. I do want to put on the record that the work of teachers is critical to our society. We simply cannot afford to undervalue the importance of educational experiences of our kids.

It is well recognised, too, that the work in schools has become increasingly challenging, due to the complexity and seriousness of social issues students bring with them. And there have been too many inquiries in this place, a number of which I have chaired, which have highlighted that; and I'm sorry to see that we're still in a situation where I don't think we've really addressed the issues.

If we are to address teacher shortage, we have to value this work more; we have to give young people reasons to become teachers and give good teachers the reasons to stay. The issue is also, though, that good teachers need to be supported in every way possible, including encouraging their creativity and allowing others to learn from them.

The next stage of negotiations might need to take these factors into account if they are to deliver the goods on attracting and retaining teachers. And I can give some examples of this. It's interesting. I recently heard speaking a gentleman who is the key adviser to the British government on education. He was a particularly inspiring person. He was saying the absolute key issue that you have to address if you want to

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