Ms WALKER - 2013-08-28
Your cuts to education are hurting bush communities. You are cutting teachers in our biggest bush schools, with Maningrida going from 26 teachers to 22. In our smaller schools – Nyirripi should be staffed by four teachers but this term it only has one. How can one teacher, when there are meant to be four, help us give kids in the bush the education opportunities they so desperately need and deserve? Will you reverse your cuts to ensure Maningrida, Nyirripi and other bush schools have their full complement of teachers, and will your spineless bush colleagues speak or will they maintain their silence on these shameful cuts?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is interesting that, again, the opposition talks about how we are managing education. I said yesterday in this House that in the first 12 months of the Country Liberals government more money was put into education than by any previous government.
It is interesting that the savings measures we put in place do not go outside an agreement made between the unions and your government. It was an agreement with the unions that the time in front of classrooms - there were many interesting bits of information in that document, but none of the cost-saving measures we are looking at go against the agreement you made with the union and teachers. Nothing in that document goes against the agreement.
I was reading a document recently from the member for Karama, Delia Lawrie, saying Karama Primary School would lose …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It is not about the member for Karama. Will he reverse his decision to sack bush teachers?
Madam SPEAKER: The minister has three minutes to answer. Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, I will keep this short. It is time to put up or shut up. Show one dismissal letter.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is interesting that, again, the opposition talks about how we are managing education. I said yesterday in this House that in the first 12 months of the Country Liberals government more money was put into education than by any previous government.
It is interesting that the savings measures we put in place do not go outside an agreement made between the unions and your government. It was an agreement with the unions that the time in front of classrooms - there were many interesting bits of information in that document, but none of the cost-saving measures we are looking at go against the agreement you made with the union and teachers. Nothing in that document goes against the agreement.
I was reading a document recently from the member for Karama, Delia Lawrie, saying Karama Primary School would lose …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It is not about the member for Karama. Will he reverse his decision to sack bush teachers?
Madam SPEAKER: The minister has three minutes to answer. Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, I will keep this short. It is time to put up or shut up. Show one dismissal letter.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016