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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 7 Hansard (26 June) . . Page.. 2234 ..

MS McRAE (continuing):

Eventually, all the Minister does is tick off the budget and say, "A million dollars this way, a million dollars that way; on we go"; and, collectively, through either the Government or the Assembly, we have no public measure of the qualitative issues that I am talking about.

I will leave that as, again, more a series of thoughts and concerns, rather than a major criticism. I think we will all evolve into the new system in time. Should I be stuck here next year, my criticisms may be a little more focused and developed. But they are the issues that I would like to put on the table. I think they are matters that do concern anyone who goes to the budget papers to find out what the Government is doing in education. I would be very interested to see whether there are other ways of dealing with the issues that I have raised.

MS TUCKER (5.43): I would like to make a few comments as well in this area. I have been concerned about the issue of equity in our public school system, and I have said that many times in this place. I feel it is at risk at the moment. I do not see that this Government is necessarily as aware of the dangers of this as I would like. I am very concerned that something as crucial as education - public access, equal access to high standard education for all people in Australia - is indeed fundamental to, in a way, creating a civil society. I believe education is absolutely critical if we are to achieve that goal. I do not believe government understands the implications of some of the policies and the directions that they are moving in - that is, the Federal Government, as Mr Moore pointed out, as well as our local Government - particularly in the way that they seem to think that market principles are pretty well okay in the school system. I support what Mr Moore said. I believe it is okay to have choice. I am not saying you should not have any independent schools at all. I think there is a place for them. However, we must see always an absolute insurance and assurance that the public system is of the highest level and the highest quality.

I also support what Ms McRae said. I think there is a little bit of an ad hoc nature to some of the policy decisions that have been taken by this Government in the area of education; for example, the Minister's personal passion for sport. I do not have a problem with sport, but I do have a problem when I see other areas not given equal focus. We have seen important positions cut in the central office of Education. They were assisting schools in the ongoing development of curriculum. I do not think it is appropriate that that has been basically handed over to the schools, with assurances that it is okay because the curriculum development work has been done. It is never really done; it is something that is evolving. If individual schools are left on their own to do that, which is good to a point, and they are not informed by a central agency which has the resources to do that developmental work, then there is definitely a danger that the schools will suffer as a result.

We all know only too well that the schools are already pretty stretched. We do not see people sitting around having cups of tea; we see teachers with heavy workloads; we see classes with large numbers of students; we see an increasing number of students with particular difficulties such as learning difficulties or behavioural difficulties; we see a push for integration of children with a disability in the public system, which is fine if it is working. I do not think it is necessarily appropriate for every child with a disability.

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