House of Assembly Wednesday 30 October 2019
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Wednesday 30 October 2019 The Speaker, Ms Hickey, took the Chair at 10 a.m., acknowledged the Traditional People and read Prayers. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS Madam SPEAKER - Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of students from TasTAFE. Welcome to parliament. Members - Hear, hear. QUESTIONS Literacy and Numeracy Coordinators - Recruitment Ms WHITE question to MINISTER for EDUCATION and TRAINING, Mr ROCKLIFF [10.02 a.m.] At the last election you promised that every school would have access to specialist teachers as literacy and numeracy coordinators - every school. The commitment to recruit an additional 35 experienced teachers as literacy and numeracy coaches came with a $26 million funding commitment. Can you confirm that the rollout of the literacy teachers has been paused until 2022? It is clear that these teachers have fallen victim to your Government's budget cuts in yet another clear breach of your promise not to cut frontline services. Why have you broken your promise to roll out specialist teachers in literacy coaches to all Tasmanian Government schools in this term of government? ANSWER Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question. Every school will have access to specialist teachers. That could be in the form of music or art; it could be in the form of STEMM. I assure the member that there is more funding for education within our school system than ever before. We have more teachers in our schools than we did in 2014 - some 220 more teachers in our government school system - and more teacher assistants. I was very pleased to announce a few days ago that 113 new teachers will also be in our schools at Term One 2020. I assure the member that each school will have access to a specialist teacher. We take literacy and numeracy in our schools very seriously. It is also very pleasing that we have extended the Learning in Families Together program, the literacy and numeracy initiative, the Kindergarten to Grade 2 initiative, parental engagement initiative, which is great news, from 80 schools to 109 schools. Ms WHITE - Point of order, Madam Speaker. Standing Order 45, relevance. I ask you to draw the attention of the minister to the question, which is whether he can confirm that he has paused the rollout of literacy coaches until 2022? 1 30 October 2019 Madam SPEAKER - That is not a point of order, but I draw the minister's attention to the relevancy of the question. Mr ROCKLIFF - Investing in literacy and numeracy is relevant here, Madam Speaker. As a result of extending the successful Learning in Families Together program, commenced in 2016, we are committed to and we are extending that to an additional 5000 students who will have access to that Kindergarten to Grade 2 parental engagement program - Ms White - It is a different program. Mr ROCKLIFF - It is focusing on literacy and numeracy. Have you read the literacy strategy? Ms White - It is different to what you promised. Madam SPEAKER - Through the Chair, please. Mr Ferguson - Which we launched on line. Don't you talk about dumping policies. Madam SPEAKER - Order, Mr Ferguson. We had an agreement yesterday that there would be a little more calm in the Chamber. Thank you. Mr ROCKLIFF - Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is pleasing that we have so much interest from around the community, the state and interstate to be a teacher in a Tasmanian school. With the first tranche of our 250 teachers that we committed to at the 2018 election, and we will deliver over six years, we had 600 applications and 69 teachers commenced earlier this year. We had over 300 applications for the recruitment of tranche 2, which will have 113 teachers commencing in term 1. There can be no doubt of this Government's commitment to education; $7 billion over the course of the next - Ms O'BYRNE - Point of order, Madam Speaker. It is unfortunately to Standing Order 45, relevance. There is still some doubt as to the answer of the question, which is whether the specialist program promised has been paused? The minister says there is no doubt about his position. Perhaps he could tell us if there is any doubt about whether the program has been paused. Madam SPEAKER - It is not a point of order. Mr ROCKLIFF - I assure the House that every school will have access to specialist teachers. As I understand it, that can be at the school's discretion. A specialist teacher in music, drama, art, or STEMM, is a school-based decision. Our election commitment was very clear and a lot clearer than yours. We are going to commit to 250 additional teachers over six years of which we have commenced and are delivering on that commitment. Education - Disability Funding Ms WHITE question to MINISTER for EDUCATION and TRAINING, Mr ROCKLIFF [10.09 a.m.] Next year the long-awaited new disability funding model will be introduced to incorporate an additional 2000 students living with disability. Despite this massive influx of students, your 2 30 October 2019 Government has only allocated an additional $4 million to the model for the 2019-20 year. It has become clear that schools across the state are facing funding shortfalls to support their students. Some schools are being asked to support more students with less funding and are facing difficult decisions, like having to top-up teacher aide support time from their general budgets and cutting back other school programs. Forcing schools to make these decisions will result in winners and losers, and it will work against the inclusive principles of the scheme. How many current severe disability and supported students will receive less funding and support next year? ANSWER Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question. The new disability funding model is nation-leading. The member would be well advised, if she has not already taken the opportunity, to take a briefing on this particular matter, because this is a nation-leading student-with-disability investment, of which this state can be very proud. The people within the Department of Education who have worked so hard and consulted with every school with respect to this matter can also take a great deal of pride in this model. This model will provide funding for students with disability to another 2000 students in our government schools. Another 2000 students, based on need - the needs of the students. That may well be resourced in terms of human resource. It may well also be in terms of equipment. The students' needs will be assessed and the resource will flow accordingly. Ms White - How many will be receiving less funding next year? Some students are missing out. They are receiving less funding next year than they had this year. Madam SPEAKER - Leader of the Opposition, I ask you to refrain from interjecting. Thank you. Mr ROCKLIFF - Madam Speaker, the students with disability are assessed, and funding will flow to the students based on need. This is nation-leading. There is too much of a rigid approach; too many people in the previous model were missing out. A rigid approach around the 50 to 70 IQ, where people fell through the gaps. It was not fair. This is the fairest system. Madam Speaker, 2000 more students will be able to access resources for their learning needs. If there is one thing this Government has done in education is to break down every single possible barrier that a student in our government schools has when it comes to learning. An addition to the resource package, of which I am also very proud, which was released a few weeks ago to every school. That does not include the trauma resource that will also flow next year as well: another nation-leading example where we are reducing those barriers. With children's learning, it does not matter what your circumstance is, where you live, what your background is in Tasmania. The Education Act states that, and as I have stated many times, it is the fundamental right of every child around this state to have a quality education. That is why we have a more inclusive system when it comes to trauma-informed practice. When it comes to increasing the opportunities of providing 5000 more students with the Learning in Families Together initiative, and our investment in the early years - that is why we are 3 30 October 2019 funding more in our child and family centres. That is why we are extending high schools to years 11 and 12, where students in our regions can access education, again breaking down those barriers, such as travel, for example. They can have access to a year 11 and 12 program. Our education system, based on the Gonski principles and needs-based funding, says fundamentally that every child, no matter of their circumstance, around Tasmania has that fundamental right to quality education, and we are delivering it. I know it hurts the Labor Party, who should be focusing more on education policy, but they failed their students in their 16 years, and the education outcomes prove it. Not only that, when it comes to budget savings measures, in their 2011 budget, their alternative was to close 20 schools by media release. Ms WHITE - Point of order, Madam Speaker. Standing order 45. This has been a very long answer by the minister, and he has not yet revealed how many students next year will receive less funding. If he does not have that information, he can come back to the House and provide it at a later date.