Motion
HON DONNA FARAGHER (East Metropolitan) [10.07 am] — without notice: I move —
That this house —
(a) recognises the total mishandling by the McGowan government of the education portfolio and its poorly thought-out and rushed decisions that continue to cause immense hurt and distress across Western Australia; and
(b) calls on the McGowan government to reassure parents of children in public schools that there will be no further cuts to the education portfolio.
As can be seen, this motion is in two parts. The first part reflects the opposition’s view that, since coming to power, the government has made a series of errors and misjudgements across the education portfolio, characterised by various misjudgements and poorly thought-out decisions, all of which have led to enormous anger, distress and hurt for many Western Australians.…………….[further comments from Donna Farragher and several other members]
HON ALISON XAMON (North Metropolitan) [10.49 am]: I rise to make some comments on this motion. I have not yet had the opportunity to speak on the regional education funding cuts and I hope to do that in great detail next week if I am lucky enough to get the call. Therefore, I will focus now on some key areas that will not be captured in my contribution to that motion.
I recognise that this state is in a bad financial position. There has been enough independent assessment of that position for us to recognise that we need to make some expenditure cuts. That is one of the reasons that the Greens have been supportive of looking at alternative means of raising revenue, such as a gold levy. Of course, I do not think there should be a direct correlation between whether a gold levy is approved by this Parliament and whether we have expenditure cuts. Having said that, I believe that public education should be one of the core businesses of government. I am strongly of the view that education, health, suicide prevention, child protection and measures to improve the integrity of government should be quarantined from expenditure cuts. I recognise that some good decisions have been made in the education portfolio under not only this government but also the previous government. However, some pretty bad decisions have also been made by both sides. One of the reasons that poor decision-making is continuing to occur in the education portfolio is the government’s lack of appropriate consultation with the community about the long-term impact of these expenditure cuts. I am concerned that the Department of Education has had to bear the significant brunt of the 3 000 public service positions that have been cut across government. I am concerned also about the loss of royalties for regions funding for areas such as the boarding away from home allowance. It should be no surprise that people are distressed and angry about these cuts in the education portfolio. This area should be given specific attention and quarantined from any expenditure cuts.
I have only a short time to speak on this motion, so I will speak specifically about Tuart College and Canning College. From next year, Tuart College will be repurposed and will no longer take student enrolments, and Canning College will deliver programs only to overseas fee-paying students. That is a very bad decision and it has not been given the attention it deserves. It will be to the detriment of future generations of Western Australian students who need alternative pathways to university. The Minister for Education and Training has said that universities are starting to embrace alternative pathways to university; therefore, the programs offered at Canning and Tuart Colleges are not necessary. However, what has been fundamentally misunderstood is that students who need alternative pathways to university are only part of the cohort of people who for decades have been going through those colleges. These colleges have played a critical role in providing diverse curriculum pathways to university for students who, because of family breakdown, mental breakdown or physical issues—whatever the circumstances— have not been able to complete year 12. The colleges also offer Australian tertiary admission rank courses, certificate IV university access courses, diploma courses and other special tertiary admission courses. Curtin University is currently funding its own university enabling course, which is run out of Canning College. Importantly, both colleges offer full-time and part-time options to enable adult students to complete year 12. It is difficult to see how many students will be able to make it to university without access to the pathways that are offered by these colleges. The government needs to make clear what strategies, if any, will be available for these students. I am concerned that, effectively, no new options will be available for these students. Members in this place would know that I am an extremely strong supporter of our TAFE system. However, I do not believe that in the current funding environment, TAFE is equipped to take up the slack. We know that the TAFE system is in a funding crisis. Therefore, any suggestion that TAFE will prove to be the answer is deeply misguided.
I turn now to the decision that from next year, Canning College will deliver courses only to overseas fee-paying students. I want to make it clear that I do not have a problem with strengthening international education enrolments. It is an important role, and it brings significant income and social benefit to Western Australia. However, I have a problem when this is done to the detriment of Western Australian students. There is no evidence to demonstrate that either local or international students will benefit from this decision. As I understand it, one of the attractions of Canning College for international students is the opportunity to undertake education in conjunction with local intake students and have hands-on experiences, form friendships and relationships, learn about Australian culture, and, importantly, improve their language skills. I would argue very strongly that denying local students entry to Canning College will not make it more attractive to international students. That begs the question: why was this decision made, and on what evidence was it based?
I now want to make some quick comments about Herdsman Lake Wildlife Centre. One of my sons is going to that centre with his school tomorrow, as it turns out. I have mentioned the minister’s decision to remove funding from areas that are not considered to be core business of the Department of Education. This cut in funding might help improve the department’s bottom line, but it will not benefit the community more broadly. This is a real example of a false economy. A number of the grants that have previously been provided to external organisations have been reduced or have ceased. I am waiting to get the full list of those grants, because that information has been coming out in dribs and drabs. We know that funding for Herdsman Lake Wildlife Centre and Canning River Eco Education Centre has been cut. The amount of money that these centres require to continue their operations is peanuts. These centres have been providing important environmental education and experiences for students around the state for a long time. The tiny amount of money that these centres have been receiving has given them the capacity to facilitate a large and amazing volunteer base. It is therefore a false economy to take away this tiny amount of money, which is effectively being used to facilitate a large cohort of people who are delivering a service for free. We are talking about funding that covers just one teacher and one administrative support person. All the other operating funding is raised by charging visiting schools a fee for service. It is a poor decision to take away that funding. Since 2002, WA Gould League has had over 111 000 students participate in school-based programs and an average of 6 500 students participate in its programs annually. They are curriculum based and they comprise both environmental education units and Aboriginal education services. These are the sorts of programs that we should be continuing to fund. I am waiting to get more information about what other areas of funding have been cut, because I think there is still a lot more to be said in this space.
[Comments from several members]
Motion lapsed, pursuant to standing orders. [Emergency evacuation alarm system activated.]
Sitting suspended from 11.27 to 11.46 am