Ms SCRYMGOUR - 2003-05-28
It is well known that education is one of our government’s highest priorities. Could you please outline the initiatives that are contained in the 2003-04 budget that will impact on the quality of education services provided to the people of the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
I thank the member for Arafura for her question, because I am always pleased to speak about this government and what it is doing in relation to education. We resolved, very early as a government, that educational outcomes in the Northern Territory needed a significant lift, and we are going to continue to concentrate on that. Expenditure of $520m this financial year, a record, up $13.5m on last year’s budget, is clear evidence of that commitment.
An additional $3m in that recurrent funding has been allocated to build on the significant work already undertaken in information and communication technology in schools. That provides laptops for teachers under the EBA, upgrading of student database, and interactive distance learning for remote students. That is going to provide high quality two-way visual and audio between teachers and students. This is something we want to build on, particularly in remote areas, and particularly where you cannot get the range of curriculum subject offerings in some of those areas. This is the key to be able to provide that type of service. An extra $480 000 will go to extra support for students with learning difficulties to help them to achieve those national benchmarks in literacy and numeracy. We have a total commitment to literacy and numeracy standards, and that will give those who are having the greatest difficulty another measure of support.
I dealt with the high school in Palmerston. Other capital works include: $335 000 at Gillen; almost $3.9m for Parap; the first $1m of $7m for Darwin High School; and a further $3m for remote schools, which is an ongoing item in the budget. It is an area of concern to this government that with some of our infrastructure, the more rural and remote you get, the more run down that infrastructure has become. There are minor new works at Bees Creek, Bakewell, Anula, Mutitjulu, Nyrripi, Nightcliff, Leanyer and Girraween.
There is also good news for teachers in the budget. We value highly the role teachers play in our community, and this budget seeks to support them and acknowledge that support, with wages increased under the EBA – 5% this year, 4% from February next year – a 9% increase over two years. This keeps our teachers right near the top in relativity for teachers’ salaries across the board. Twenty additional teachers will again be employed this year, going on the extra 100 teachers over this term of government.$760 000 is budgeted this financial year for 60 student bursaries - these are the 20 bursaries a year at $12 000 each. They are enormously popular and successful, and both students and parents are always keen to add their personal thanks to that scheme. It gives us home-grown, local kids getting into our teaching service. An amount of $224 000 has been provided to improve living and working conditions of teachers in remote communities, and those laptops for teachers as part of the EBA will be put in place.
Employment and training has been provided for with $2m to a new initiative to support and train apprentices. $1.5m goes to meet the anticipated 24% increase in apprenticeships over the next three years. That is a growth rate that we are really going to work at getting. $500 000 is to establish an employment bonus scheme, aimed at those small businesses that take on apprentices. $1m goes to Vocational Education and Training for ongoing funding for remote youth in the TRY program,. $450 000 is for regional VET coordinators in Katherine, Tennant Creek, Jabiru and Nhulunbuy. An additional $500 000 is for Work Health Occupational Health and Safety services to Territory workers and industry. There are five additional positions created, which will help support emerging industries such as oil and gas. We are very mindful of the need to be right up there in world’s best practice in occupational health and safety in our industries if our people are going to get a look in on the major projects coming up, such as the LNG plant with Bechtel
That demonstrates a couple of the highlights. In two short years, we have gone some way to improve the quality of education and training in the Territory. There was neglect under our predecessors, it is not being unkind to say that. It is probably being gentle; you probably could say much worse. There is a legacy of neglect there that we have had to pick up and respond to and, of course, that takes resources.
The future wellbeing of the Territory hinges on the product that we bring out of our schools. I saw a quote recently that, ‘those kids going forward into the future is a mirror on the society of today’. That is a great way to look at it. We have a responsibility to these kids, to provide access to the best quality education and training possible. I am proud of the foundation we are building. However, there is an awful long way to go, and we do not crow about those early successes that we have had yet, because, in particularly indigenous, rural and remote outcomes, they are so abysmally low that we should expect - and we demand, and will get - quite steep improvements, particularly over the first few years. We are coming off such a low base of achievement. We will continue to work at it.
I look forward to the MAPS national benchmark testing in literacy and numeracy at Years 3, 5 and 7 this year. It will be undertaken in about August, and it will be late in the year before we get preliminary results. However, we did see early turnarounds, albeit off the low base. I look forward to those results coming to us later this year and sharing those with the House and with Territorians, because that is a measure, in part at least, of how effective this government has been in lifting educational standards across the Territory.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Question Paper.
Mr REED: A point of order, Madam Speaker! As I recall, given your very useful contribution in relation to your explanation about the Youth Parliament, Question Time did not start until 2.10 pm. We do, by tradition, have an hour of Question Time, unless the government is running from opportunity for questions to be asked of them.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
ANSWER
I thank the member for Arafura for her question, because I am always pleased to speak about this government and what it is doing in relation to education. We resolved, very early as a government, that educational outcomes in the Northern Territory needed a significant lift, and we are going to continue to concentrate on that. Expenditure of $520m this financial year, a record, up $13.5m on last year’s budget, is clear evidence of that commitment.
An additional $3m in that recurrent funding has been allocated to build on the significant work already undertaken in information and communication technology in schools. That provides laptops for teachers under the EBA, upgrading of student database, and interactive distance learning for remote students. That is going to provide high quality two-way visual and audio between teachers and students. This is something we want to build on, particularly in remote areas, and particularly where you cannot get the range of curriculum subject offerings in some of those areas. This is the key to be able to provide that type of service. An extra $480 000 will go to extra support for students with learning difficulties to help them to achieve those national benchmarks in literacy and numeracy. We have a total commitment to literacy and numeracy standards, and that will give those who are having the greatest difficulty another measure of support.
I dealt with the high school in Palmerston. Other capital works include: $335 000 at Gillen; almost $3.9m for Parap; the first $1m of $7m for Darwin High School; and a further $3m for remote schools, which is an ongoing item in the budget. It is an area of concern to this government that with some of our infrastructure, the more rural and remote you get, the more run down that infrastructure has become. There are minor new works at Bees Creek, Bakewell, Anula, Mutitjulu, Nyrripi, Nightcliff, Leanyer and Girraween.
There is also good news for teachers in the budget. We value highly the role teachers play in our community, and this budget seeks to support them and acknowledge that support, with wages increased under the EBA – 5% this year, 4% from February next year – a 9% increase over two years. This keeps our teachers right near the top in relativity for teachers’ salaries across the board. Twenty additional teachers will again be employed this year, going on the extra 100 teachers over this term of government.$760 000 is budgeted this financial year for 60 student bursaries - these are the 20 bursaries a year at $12 000 each. They are enormously popular and successful, and both students and parents are always keen to add their personal thanks to that scheme. It gives us home-grown, local kids getting into our teaching service. An amount of $224 000 has been provided to improve living and working conditions of teachers in remote communities, and those laptops for teachers as part of the EBA will be put in place.
Employment and training has been provided for with $2m to a new initiative to support and train apprentices. $1.5m goes to meet the anticipated 24% increase in apprenticeships over the next three years. That is a growth rate that we are really going to work at getting. $500 000 is to establish an employment bonus scheme, aimed at those small businesses that take on apprentices. $1m goes to Vocational Education and Training for ongoing funding for remote youth in the TRY program,. $450 000 is for regional VET coordinators in Katherine, Tennant Creek, Jabiru and Nhulunbuy. An additional $500 000 is for Work Health Occupational Health and Safety services to Territory workers and industry. There are five additional positions created, which will help support emerging industries such as oil and gas. We are very mindful of the need to be right up there in world’s best practice in occupational health and safety in our industries if our people are going to get a look in on the major projects coming up, such as the LNG plant with Bechtel
That demonstrates a couple of the highlights. In two short years, we have gone some way to improve the quality of education and training in the Territory. There was neglect under our predecessors, it is not being unkind to say that. It is probably being gentle; you probably could say much worse. There is a legacy of neglect there that we have had to pick up and respond to and, of course, that takes resources.
The future wellbeing of the Territory hinges on the product that we bring out of our schools. I saw a quote recently that, ‘those kids going forward into the future is a mirror on the society of today’. That is a great way to look at it. We have a responsibility to these kids, to provide access to the best quality education and training possible. I am proud of the foundation we are building. However, there is an awful long way to go, and we do not crow about those early successes that we have had yet, because, in particularly indigenous, rural and remote outcomes, they are so abysmally low that we should expect - and we demand, and will get - quite steep improvements, particularly over the first few years. We are coming off such a low base of achievement. We will continue to work at it.
I look forward to the MAPS national benchmark testing in literacy and numeracy at Years 3, 5 and 7 this year. It will be undertaken in about August, and it will be late in the year before we get preliminary results. However, we did see early turnarounds, albeit off the low base. I look forward to those results coming to us later this year and sharing those with the House and with Territorians, because that is a measure, in part at least, of how effective this government has been in lifting educational standards across the Territory.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Question Paper.
Mr REED: A point of order, Madam Speaker! As I recall, given your very useful contribution in relation to your explanation about the Youth Parliament, Question Time did not start until 2.10 pm. We do, by tradition, have an hour of Question Time, unless the government is running from opportunity for questions to be asked of them.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016