Mr GUNNER - 2013-08-27
You are cutting teachers from Education and have confirmed it. The only debate now is about how many, when and where? Can you confirm that over 50 teachers will be cut from our middle and senior schools from the start of next year, and will there be more in future years?
ANSWER
I thank the member for Fannie Bay. I welcome the question, but it is slightly wrong. There are not more than 50 teachers being …
Ms Lawrie: You just said 66.
Mr CHANDLER: No, Opposition Leader, again you are not listening, as is usual.
For the record, and as I said at the estimates hearings this year, there was to be a change of approximately 66 teachers right across the Northern Territory. The good news is, I can confirm that it is far fewer than that. It is around 35 teachers.
You, and your Labor cronies and union mates are spreading news saying we are going to cut 150 to 180 teachers. It is totally wrong. Last week, one of your union friends was scaremongering again, telling people Nightcliff Middle School is to be closed down. What a load of rot. Wrong!
You are scaremongering in the community talking about a school like Nightcliff Middle School, a great school, saying this Country Liberals government will close it down. That is scaremongering, and it is wrong. In fact, we know …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. He was asked to confirm that over 50 teachers will be cut from our middle and senior schools from the start of next year. He has been asked to table the cuts per school and the numbers of teachers. If you want to clarify it, table the information minister.
Mr Giles: Get a briefing.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: The Chief Minister is right on this point. You can get a briefing at any time, and we can give you a breakdown with the details.
The most important people here are the principals, the managers of our schools. We are negotiating with them. Let us talk about those negotiations for a minute.
Ms Fyles: You just said they were finalised, now you say you are negotiating.
Mr CHANDLER: With an influx of Defence families coming in later this year, many houses in the northern suburbs will be turned off. The keys will be handed over to Defence, and in all likelihood there will be additional families posted to the Northern Territory at Christmas.
What is that going to mean? It means we will have more teachers in some of these schools because as a responsible Education department we want to ensure …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was about teachers who will be cut from senior and middle schools next year, and confirmation more will be cut in the years after that.
Mr CHANDLER: The question is changing slightly as we go along here, but let us get back to it. As we get enrolments for schools, usually in Term 3, but more likely in Term 4 in this case, we will have a far better understanding of what the teacher requirements are.
In a school like Nightcliff Middle School, where there is real potential for growth in the northern suburbs, the likelihood is they will end up with more teachers. Let us talk about that for a second.
We have gone back and revisited how we put teachers into our schools each year on a far fairer basis, based on attendance and on the two highest attended weeks of the year for four terms of the year, and you know what the answer is? They do not want the truth.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Why, from your own information, are you taking nearly three teachers out of Nightcliff Middle School.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is not a point of order.
Mr CHANDLER: Through this new, fairer way of determining how many teachers we will have in our schools, we found we will have more teachers than what was first estimated. Let us see what the numbers show next year.
Mr GUNNER: Therefore, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! They are moving up to a censure motion, and we will not be accepting this censure motion. I will tell you why. Their Deputy Leader of the Opposition cannot be bothered to turn up to a censure motion. What a disgrace! A former teacher himself and this mob opposite cannot even turn up.
For people listening and for the edification of …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! It is not a debate; it is a point of order …
Mr ELFERINK: … members of this House, this is an attempt to bring down a minister and a government.
Mr GUNNER: Mr Deputy Speaker, I have the call. I am moving a suspension of standing orders. We are happy to debate the suspension of standing orders. I am moving it, and then you get a chance to debate it.
Mr Elferink: We are not accepting the censure motion.
Mr GUNNER: There was a motion to suspend standing orders, and you are welcome to debate the motion to suspend standing orders …
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: May I have some order in the Assembly, please. The motion at the moment is that we suspend standing orders, so I put that motion.
The Assembly divided.
Ayes 7 Noes 14
Ms Fyles Ms Anderson
Mr Gunner Mr Chandler
Ms Lawrie Mr Conlan
Ms Manison Mr Elferink
Mr Vatskalis Ms Finocchiaro
Mr Vowles Mr Giles
Ms Walker Mr Higgins
Ms Lee
Mr Mills
Mrs Price
Mr Tollner
Mr Westra van Holthe
Motion negatived.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
ANSWER
I thank the member for Fannie Bay. I welcome the question, but it is slightly wrong. There are not more than 50 teachers being …
Ms Lawrie: You just said 66.
Mr CHANDLER: No, Opposition Leader, again you are not listening, as is usual.
For the record, and as I said at the estimates hearings this year, there was to be a change of approximately 66 teachers right across the Northern Territory. The good news is, I can confirm that it is far fewer than that. It is around 35 teachers.
You, and your Labor cronies and union mates are spreading news saying we are going to cut 150 to 180 teachers. It is totally wrong. Last week, one of your union friends was scaremongering again, telling people Nightcliff Middle School is to be closed down. What a load of rot. Wrong!
You are scaremongering in the community talking about a school like Nightcliff Middle School, a great school, saying this Country Liberals government will close it down. That is scaremongering, and it is wrong. In fact, we know …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. He was asked to confirm that over 50 teachers will be cut from our middle and senior schools from the start of next year. He has been asked to table the cuts per school and the numbers of teachers. If you want to clarify it, table the information minister.
Mr Giles: Get a briefing.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: The Chief Minister is right on this point. You can get a briefing at any time, and we can give you a breakdown with the details.
The most important people here are the principals, the managers of our schools. We are negotiating with them. Let us talk about those negotiations for a minute.
Ms Fyles: You just said they were finalised, now you say you are negotiating.
Mr CHANDLER: With an influx of Defence families coming in later this year, many houses in the northern suburbs will be turned off. The keys will be handed over to Defence, and in all likelihood there will be additional families posted to the Northern Territory at Christmas.
What is that going to mean? It means we will have more teachers in some of these schools because as a responsible Education department we want to ensure …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was about teachers who will be cut from senior and middle schools next year, and confirmation more will be cut in the years after that.
Mr CHANDLER: The question is changing slightly as we go along here, but let us get back to it. As we get enrolments for schools, usually in Term 3, but more likely in Term 4 in this case, we will have a far better understanding of what the teacher requirements are.
In a school like Nightcliff Middle School, where there is real potential for growth in the northern suburbs, the likelihood is they will end up with more teachers. Let us talk about that for a second.
We have gone back and revisited how we put teachers into our schools each year on a far fairer basis, based on attendance and on the two highest attended weeks of the year for four terms of the year, and you know what the answer is? They do not want the truth.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Why, from your own information, are you taking nearly three teachers out of Nightcliff Middle School.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is not a point of order.
Mr CHANDLER: Through this new, fairer way of determining how many teachers we will have in our schools, we found we will have more teachers than what was first estimated. Let us see what the numbers show next year.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Proposed Motion of Censure
Proposed Motion of Censure
Mr GUNNER: Therefore, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! They are moving up to a censure motion, and we will not be accepting this censure motion. I will tell you why. Their Deputy Leader of the Opposition cannot be bothered to turn up to a censure motion. What a disgrace! A former teacher himself and this mob opposite cannot even turn up.
For people listening and for the edification of …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! It is not a debate; it is a point of order …
Mr ELFERINK: … members of this House, this is an attempt to bring down a minister and a government.
Mr GUNNER: Mr Deputy Speaker, I have the call. I am moving a suspension of standing orders. We are happy to debate the suspension of standing orders. I am moving it, and then you get a chance to debate it.
Mr Elferink: We are not accepting the censure motion.
Mr GUNNER: There was a motion to suspend standing orders, and you are welcome to debate the motion to suspend standing orders …
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: May I have some order in the Assembly, please. The motion at the moment is that we suspend standing orders, so I put that motion.
The Assembly divided.
Ayes 7 Noes 14
Ms Fyles Ms Anderson
Mr Gunner Mr Chandler
Ms Lawrie Mr Conlan
Ms Manison Mr Elferink
Mr Vatskalis Ms Finocchiaro
Mr Vowles Mr Giles
Ms Walker Mr Higgins
- Mr Kurrupuwu
Ms Lee
Mr Mills
Mrs Price
Mr Tollner
Mr Westra van Holthe
Motion negatived.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016