Thursday 27 November 2014

Hansard of the Legislative Council

Exeter Primary and High Schools Education Concerns

Esk Band Program

Mr FINCH Question to the LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Dr GOODWIN

(1) Can the Government give an assurance that the Exeter Primary and high schools in my electorate will not be reduced or amalgamated?

(2) Is the Government aware that its cuts to education are threatening such beneficial programs as the Esk Band Program and that northern parents are increasingly concerned about what is happening to education programs?

ANSWER

Mr President, I thank the honourable member for Rosevears for his question.

(1) This Government's policy on school closures and amalgamations is very clear. Unlike the previous the government, we will not force schools to close or amalgamate. Closures or amalgamations must be driven by the school community, not the Government.

(2) This Government has injected record spending of $1.4 billion into education and training in this state in this year's Budget. This means every Tasmanian school has a minimum of a 5 per cent increase in the Fairer Funding component of their resource package funding. There is more money going into staffing our schools than there ever has been before, including additional funding allocated as a result of backline savings.

As honourable members know, the pay pause legislation was an integral part of the Budget and necessary to save many of the 1 000 job cuts embedded in the Budget by the previous government. As the pay pause legislation was not supported by the Council, the Government was left with the only other way to meet the salary appropriation, which was to reduce the public sector by an additional 500 jobs. The Government agrees that it is unfortunate that school communities are in this situation, but it is important to note that not one teaching position would have been lost if the pay pause had been supported.