Page 640 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 11 February 2009
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We have got capital funds, we have got IT funds and we have got some significant investments going into improving teacher quality, which is clearly the No 1 issue that we confront in education in Australia at this time. The ACT has an opportunity, with an EBA coming up in the very near future, to take a leadership role in putting in place a new structure to reward quality teachers, to reward merit and to say goodbye to the systems of the past that were all about seniority. This should be about merit. And that is the direction the government is taking.
MR SPEAKER: Ms Porter, a supplementary question?
MS PORTER: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can the minister advise the Assembly of the reaction of education experts and other community leaders to the Rudd government’s proposed stimulus package as it relates to the ACT?
MR BARR: Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I again thank Ms Porter. It is very clear from the debates in this place in the last 48 hours that this side of the chamber welcomes this package because it is an historic investment in the future of young Canberrans. But I am very pleased to advise the Assembly that we are not alone. This package has been warmly welcomed by Mr Jeremy Irvine of the Association of Independent Schools here in the ACT and Elizabeth Singer of the ACT Council of P&C Associations. These ACT bodies have been joined by national voices as diverse as Angelo Gavrielatos from the AEU and Heather Ridout of the Australian Industry Group.
But while it is clear that the overwhelming majority of expert opinion backs both territory and federal government investment in schools, once again we fail to have any substantive statement from the shadow minister for education on the position of the ACT Liberals on this. In fact, depending on which day of the week it is and whether it is an odd or an even day, we are seeing flip-flopping by the Leader of the Opposition. One moment he is endorsing it as the Prime Minister taking Liberal Party policy, but then yesterday afternoon in the MPI Mr Smyth delivered a long tirade where essentially he indicated that the ACT Liberals do not support all aspects of the package, other than the insulation.
Even at the bare minimum Mr Seselja could pick up the phone to Mr Turnbull and say, “We support the insulation. Do that.” That would be the bare minimum. That is something he could do. It is remarkable that we have had absolute silence from the shadow minister for education on this matter. This is the most significant investment in schools in the territory and the shadow minister—
Mr Smyth: He is too busy getting barbed wire down from around our schools.
MR BARR: I do note that he has been inspecting barbed wire. I am very pleased that the barbed wire did serve one particular purpose, and that was keeping strangers off the school sites. It was very effective in doing that.
I suppose we could have taken the easy Liberal Party option in relation to that oval. Perhaps we could have painted it green. But, no, we thought we would get the
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