Page 3126 - Week 07 - Thursday, 30 June 2011
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provide more resources for school sport in the ACT. There is the public secondary school innovation fund, the fund for the noteworthy orchestra program, and additional funding in relation to a number of important capital works projects throughout the ACT education system.
I am particularly pleased to be able to provide nearly $2 million to fund the replacement of the Malkara hydrotherapy pool. It is a small initiative in the context of an $830 million budget, but I am very pleased that we have been able to fund the upgrade of that facility, and it comes off the back of similar work that occurred at the Turner school to upgrade their hydrotherapy pool.
There is a broad and ambitious reform agenda in education and training, from early childhood through primary, high school and college and in vocational education and training and, indeed, higher education. It is a period of significant change in Australian education. A number of important reforms are recurring both at a national level and here in the ACT. In the process of reform in education, there are significant challenges; there are time frames involved. I note there was some criticism from the shadow minister in relation to time frames associated with enterprise bargaining and teacher salaries. I remind the shadow minister that an enterprise bargaining agreement locks down a set of conditions for a period of time. The current enterprise bargaining agreement expires in about 22 minutes, and we will look forward to the conclusion of the current bargaining round in the very near future that will see—
Mr Coe: I dare you to speak for that amount of time.
MR BARR: Mr Coe, you may regret laying that challenge down, but, as much as you appreciate listening to me talk about education reform, I will not continue for 23 minutes. I would observe, though, that the context of achieving reform in terms of the teacher career structure is one that requires a process of enterprise bargaining. That means negotiation, and often tough negotiation with the Australian Education Union in order to achieve what I believe are important reforms to raise the status of the teaching profession.
Mr Doszpot: In 10 years it has gone backwards, Mr Barr.
MR BARR: Mr Doszpot, I would argue that the status of the teaching profession has gone backwards over about a 35-year period, and it reflects, in my view, a failure to reform the industrial relations arrangements around the teaching profession. All other professions have undertaken some process of reform over that time. I am talking at a national level about professional reform and industrial relations reform. There is no doubt that in every state and territory—whether the government is Liberal or Labor—over a 30-year period, it has been difficult to achieve this sort of structural reform, partly because those who want to take cheap shots will do so and partly because there is some industrial resistance to a freer industrial relations arrangement in relation to the teaching profession.
In my view, this reform is essential to raise the status of the profession, and we need to do a number of important things that are contained within the government’s offer to the Australian Education Union. The two most important changes are, firstly, to allow
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