15327 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Thursday 14 May 2009 __________ The Speaker (The Hon. George Richard Torbay) took the chair at 10.00 a.m. The Speaker read the Prayer and acknowledgement of country. CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS (CARE AND PROTECTION) AMENDMENT BILL 2009 CRIMINAL ORGANISATIONS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2009 HOME BUILDING AMENDMENT (INSURANCE) BILL 2009 Messages received from the Legislative Council returning the bills without amendment. MOTOR ACCIDENTS COMPENSATION AMENDMENT BILL 2009 Message received from the Legislative Council returning the bill with an amendment. Consideration of Legislative Council's amendment set down as an order of the day for a future day. CRIMINAL LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2009 Bill introduced. Agreement in principle set down as an order of the day for a later hour. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Notices of Motions General Business Notices of Motions (General Notices) given. EDUCATION AMENDMENT BILL 2009 Message received from the Legislative Council returning the bill with amendments. Consideration in Detail Consideration of the Legislative Council amendments. Schedule of amendments referred to in message of 13 May 2009 No. 1 Page 3, schedule 1 [2]. Insert after line 33: (b) the completion of a course provided by the TAFE Commission that is approved by the Minister as the equivalent of Year 10 of secondary education in this State, or No. 2 Page 4. Insert after line 30: [5] Section 23 (3) (a1) Insert after section 23 (3) (a): (a1) the child has written permission from the principal of a government school or registered non-government school, and from the director of a TAFE establishment, to enrol in a course referred to in section 21B (5) (b) and is so enrolled, or 15328 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 14 May 2009 No. 3 Page 6, schedule 1 [10], lines 8–10. Omit all words on those lines. Insert instead: (1) The amendments made by the Education Amendment Act 2009 do not apply to a child who attained the age of 15 years before 1 January 2010, unless: (a) the child completed Year 10 of secondary education (as referred to in section 21B) during the 2009 school year, or (b) the child was enrolled at a government or registered non-government school at the end of the 2009 school year or was registered for home schooling at the end of 2009. (2) The regulations may make provision for the purpose of determining whether a child was enrolled at a school at the end of the 2009 school year. Mr JOHN AQUILINA (Riverstone—Parliamentary Secretary) [10.10 a.m.], on behalf of Mr Nathan Rees: I move: That the House agree to the Legislative Council amendments. I thank the many members of both this and the other place who have spoken in this debate for their contributions. As the House is aware, this legislation aims to ensure that New South Wales students maintain a competitive advantage in today's economy. As has already been outlined, the current school leaving age of 15 was set in 1943 when only a small number of young people stayed at school beyond the equivalent of year 10. That was when they achieved the matriculation certificate. Now only a minority do not stay on to complete year 12 and there are few entry-level positions that do not require a Higher School Certificate or its equivalent. Successfully completing year 12 or its equivalent should no longer be optional. There are two clear reasons why this is the case and why this legislation is of vital importance. Firstly, continued education is very much in the interests of young people and, secondly, it is of great benefit to the New South Wales and Australian economies. In relation to young individuals, the evidence is stark and uncompromising. The Australian Bureau of Statistics research shows that year 12 leavers who go on to further study have an unemployment rate of only 2.7 per cent, while year 10 or below leavers have an unemployment rate of 7.8 per cent. An early leaver has more than double the risk of unemployment. Just as relevant is research regarding some income levels. A 2005 study estimated that each year of education increases an individual's income by 10 per cent. The evidence is just as clear-cut with regard to the economy. Higher educational attainments lead to a higher domestic product. Applied Economics has estimated that if the number of early school leavers is halved by 2050, it will result in a $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion gain to the New South Wales economy. The OECD has said that additional years of education would raise the level of productivity by between 3 per cent and 6 per cent. In preparing for these changes, the New South Wales Government has consulted with parents, young people, and those who work with and promote the interests of young people, and industry. The community expressed clear and virtually unanimous support for these changes in the legislation, which I will now outline. From 2010 each student in New South Wales will complete year 10 as a minimum and continue to be engaged in some form of education, training or employment until they are 17 years old. This legislation has been designed specifically to give young people maximum flexibility in how they stay engaged in education for longer. The legislation defines the minimum school leaving age as the age at which a student completes year 10 of secondary education or the age of 17 years, whichever occurs first. The system will have the flexibility to allow for special circumstances affecting particular students and the Minister of the day will have the power to approve the completion of education in these circumstances. The legislation also introduces a participation requirement so that every young person must participate in some form of education or training, or be in employment from the time they complete year 10 until they reach 17 years of age. For the majority of students this will simply mean that they stay at school. For others the participation phase may include a vocational course or an apprenticeship or traineeship. An amendment was passed in the other place that provides an additional option for a small cohort of young people for whom school, even at the age of 14 and 15, is not the best place to complete their education. The Government did not oppose that amendment. In fact, the Government acknowledges that for some young people this will require us to work with them to develop solutions that best meet their specific needs. Blacktown Youth College is such a place operating within the city of Blacktown close to my electorate. It does an outstanding job for many people who normally would have left school at a young age but who now are being provided with gainful education on a modified curriculum level approved by the Board of Studies. I commend the teachers and administration of the Blacktown Youth College for its particular work. I am proud 14 May 2009 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 15329 to be patron of that college as it recognises the specific and special needs of young people aged 14 and 15 years—sometimes often younger—who in the past would have opted out of the school system at a very early age, probably becoming chronic truants never to be seen again as far as education was concerned. However, now these young people are being taught extensively about living skills, and literacy and numeracy needs through the modified curriculum under the outstanding dedication of the teachers. Members will be interested to note that at the recent Council of Australian Governments meeting in Hobart the Prime Minister and all Premiers and Chief Ministers considered options to improve school retention and youth transition into the labour market. The meeting sought to find the best way to ensure that all Australian children are as well prepared as possible by our education systems for their futures. I am proud to report that at the end of that meeting all States and Territories adopted the same school leaving age policy as that developed in New South Wales—the same policy we are now debating. I take this opportunity to commend the Rudd Government particularly for its successes in spearheading a number of nationwide educational performances and in bringing about educational uniformity across the States and Territories. Ten years ago, even five years ago, this would have been unheard of, but now we are seeing this degree of consistency in so many fields, including the drive to bring about common curriculums and testing processes across States and Territories. Yesterday the National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy [NAPLAN] tests commenced in our primary schools. Consistency now will be achieved regarding school leaving ages. That is a big tick for the Rudd Government and the various State and territorial governments for the manner in which this uniformity is being achieved. All Australian students will benefit from the policy the Rees Government developed in New South Wales working with students, parents, teachers and business. It is another example of the leadership of New South Wales in national education policy debates. Again I acknowledge that as part of achieving this national uniformity New South Wales in many ways is providing the benchmark and is leading the way. In line with the momentum created by the decision of the Council of Australian Governments, another amendment was passed in the other place to bring forward the implementation of the policy. While the requirement to complete year 10 remains due to commence next year, the subsequent participation phase also will now commence next year— brought forward from 2011.