Mr HIGGINS - 2014-05-14
Much has been said about the gap between educational outcomes for Aboriginal secondary students in remote areas when compared with their non-Aboriginal urban counterparts. Are there any measures in this budget to improve access to secondary education in a tangible and practical way?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question, he is especially interested in education in our remote areas.
The simple answer to that is yes. There is money in this year’s budget to start dealing with some of the issues that Indigenous students face in our remote areas. I face the problem of having more support around the country for what we are trying to do than from those opposite in this Chamber.
They will not accept the umpire’s call that their approach to education – probably well intended – has not delivered the results. I have sent the results to the third umpire and they came back the same. Your approach was a failure; you did not score a try.
We are trying to take a new approach. I visited north Queensland a few weeks ago to look at what they are doing in Cape York. They are building a solid foundation in the primary years, building resilience in these children and then sending them to boarding facilities where they have access to a quality secondary education. It is a far better way of delivering quality education for children, to give them every opportunity they deserve, just like students in our urban environments.
The problem is that we have a huge Northern Territory and, as I said before, the former government’s approach was perhaps well-intended. I do not believe that anyone in this room wants a different outcome, because we all want to see improved educational outcomes. It does not matter which side of the Chamber we are on, we all want the same thing. However, if you look at the statistics and the results we see today, we try to spread the glue too thinly. Nothing was sticking. Last year, we had eight children in remote schools, out of a possible 500, who passed. That is not good enough, but it is the approach that has been taken before.
There is a better way, but, unlike the former government, we want to challenge convention. We want to find different ways to do it. I have had many sleepless nights, because until recently, I did not know what that approach would be.
It is okay to have the mantra, ‘Let us do it differently’. What we have done up until now has not gotten us to where we have to be. We have to do it differently, but what is the approach?
For the first time, I see the future that could be the Northern Territory’s; give every student, no matter where they live in the Northern Territory, the best opportunities to succeed in this great world.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question, he is especially interested in education in our remote areas.
The simple answer to that is yes. There is money in this year’s budget to start dealing with some of the issues that Indigenous students face in our remote areas. I face the problem of having more support around the country for what we are trying to do than from those opposite in this Chamber.
They will not accept the umpire’s call that their approach to education – probably well intended – has not delivered the results. I have sent the results to the third umpire and they came back the same. Your approach was a failure; you did not score a try.
We are trying to take a new approach. I visited north Queensland a few weeks ago to look at what they are doing in Cape York. They are building a solid foundation in the primary years, building resilience in these children and then sending them to boarding facilities where they have access to a quality secondary education. It is a far better way of delivering quality education for children, to give them every opportunity they deserve, just like students in our urban environments.
The problem is that we have a huge Northern Territory and, as I said before, the former government’s approach was perhaps well-intended. I do not believe that anyone in this room wants a different outcome, because we all want to see improved educational outcomes. It does not matter which side of the Chamber we are on, we all want the same thing. However, if you look at the statistics and the results we see today, we try to spread the glue too thinly. Nothing was sticking. Last year, we had eight children in remote schools, out of a possible 500, who passed. That is not good enough, but it is the approach that has been taken before.
There is a better way, but, unlike the former government, we want to challenge convention. We want to find different ways to do it. I have had many sleepless nights, because until recently, I did not know what that approach would be.
It is okay to have the mantra, ‘Let us do it differently’. What we have done up until now has not gotten us to where we have to be. We have to do it differently, but what is the approach?
For the first time, I see the future that could be the Northern Territory’s; give every student, no matter where they live in the Northern Territory, the best opportunities to succeed in this great world.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016