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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 12 Hansard (7 December) . . Page.. 3814 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

It is vital for the ACT education system, as well as for education systems nationally, that we have a diverse, balanced workforce to take us into the future. There are a number of factors to be considered in any relevant discussion of this issue. Firstly, the ACT is a bit different from other states. Overall, we have an older workforce than other states. Queensland has an average age of about 38 or 39 and ours is about 47 or 48. There are other factors which I will come to as well. Over one - half of the teachers in our government schools will reach their expected retirement within the next decade. Indeed, many will reach it within the next five years. The average age of our teachers is higher than those of other states. I have already given the example of Queensland. Most other states are in the low forties.

National projections of teacher supply and demand also indicate that the demand for teachers, especially in some disciplines and in new areas such as vocational education, is going to grow steadily over the next decade. The ACT needs to adopt a strategic approach to ensure that its government schools continue to be staffed by appropriately skilled and qualified teachers in order to maintain and improve on existing high levels of achievement by both staff and students. That is why I think that it is important that the standing committee examine the issue.

The reference I am proposing to the committee is that it inquire into and report by the last sitting day in May 2001 on the impact of the current composition of our teaching workforce on government schools by, firstly, assessing the current composition of the teaching workforce in ACT government schools and pre - schools; secondly, considering the implications for the future education of students in government schools; and, thirdly, recommending to the Assembly and to the government strategies to assist in addressing the implications identified. Mr Speaker, I think that we are going to have a significant crisis if these things are not addressed. I think that it is appropriate for the committee to commence to do so.

For the past six months I have been corresponding with Ms Tucker on the proposed referral of the issue to her committee. From my understanding of it, she does not seem to be terribly keen to have that done. She maintains that the issue is a national one and that an examination of the composition of the teaching workforce at the ACT level, effectively, would be meaningless. I do not think that is an issue. Also, the federal parliament seemingly is reluctant to examine the issue. Its committees have not committed themselves to doing so. I do not think that we can rely on them to do it nationally. Secondly, I do not know whether doing it nationally would assist us anyway. I hope that will be done. I think that it is important for the nation that it be done. But the ACT has some problems which are very different from those in the rest of the country.

Mr Speaker, our teaching workforce is a very small component of the total number of teachers nationally and any findings of an inquiry at a national level, if it were to occur, would be very much skewed by the sheer weight of teaching numbers in the larger states. It is also the case that the age profile of our teachers differs from the ones in other states and territories. Therefore, many of the factors relating to the supply and demand for teachers in the ACT are peculiar to it.

Fifty per cent of the ACT's teachers are over 45 years of age. Most of them are in the old Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme and will receive a financial benefit if they retire before the age of 55. The best age is about 54 years and nine months. For this reason,

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