Page 822 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 2 April 2008
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and to look for solutions, not just to the issues of school-based violence but broader issues in our education system. It will certainly inform our policy going forward.
If you look at the list of things that came out of the forum, some things have been done or are being done and some need to be done. It is a long and complex list. It includes: counselling in schools; continuing education for teachers and staff; more pastoral care; class sizes; more effective apprenticeships; home relationships; physical security aspects at schools; retention of teachers; family support; more effective sport and recreation; youth mental health programs; youth mental health facilities; full-service schools; a code of conduct for school visitors; and the transfer of documents between education systems. A number of different issues came through.
Mr Barr: The one that we released last week with the full endorsement of the AEU.
MR SESELJA: The minister dismisses it. The minister was embarrassed into action. It is always embarrassing when a minister, on the day of an opposition forum, has to make an announcement. He is a little bit embarrassed that we are running a forum that does get good community support. He has to put out his own press release. We know that he only brought the police to his safe schools forums very late in the piece. It was such an effective tool that only after negative coverage in the Canberra Times did he actually bring the police in and make some announcements and try and drive the process forward.
It was only when the opposition had our own forum that we started to hear something from the minister on the issue. He was embarrassed into action. We are happy to continue to have forums such as this. There were some very good things to come out of it. One of the criticisms was that the teacher professional development fund which was established in the 1999-2001 EBA with $1 million for professional development has not grown at all since then. Effectively, it has gone backwards every year because there has been no indexation. That was one of the criticisms that were put. We can do better in supporting our teachers.
The issues that relate to school-based violence are also applicable to other aspects of the education system. How do we support our teachers so that they can actually be teachers and not babysitters? How do we retain our strong school communities? Certainly the Towards 2020 program and the great betrayal of the education system does nothing to inspire confidence in the government education system. The continuing drift to the non-government sector should be of concern to this government. It should actually be looking at the real reasons for this drift and looking to do something about it.
Simply building bigger schools is not the answer. That is not the answer. It is simplistic to think that. Look at some of the non-government schools and some of the facilities that are associated with them. There is a cross-section. Many of the smaller, low-fee schools that have very basic facilities are drawing strong enrolments. It is about much more than facilities and much more than bricks and mortar. I commend the motion to the Assembly. (Time expired.)
MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Planning, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Minister for Industrial Relations) (11.04):
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