Speech to the Public Education Rally (2003 state election)

Organised by the NSW Teachers Federation
Sydney Town Hall

On behalf of the Greens thanks for the invitation to participate in this forum.

Members of the Greens are strongly committed to campaigning for public education both inside and outside Parliament.

Public education moulds our society. When our schools buzz with vitality we can all share in the success of our common future.

The Greens are committed to reducing class sizes. All public school classes from kindergarten to year 3 should have no more than 20 students.

Tonight we have heard the minister again equivocate on reducing class sizes.

Minister the jury is not out on this issue - the evidence is in. I urge that you and the premier with an open mind read the Vinson Inquiry and find out why the case for smaller class sizes is so clear cut.

The Greens message to the Labor government is just do it - reduce class sizes for K to 3 now.

The simple truth about smaller class sizes is that they allow our teachers to spend more time teaching. with massive and long lasting benefits to the students, to the school and to society.

All Australian states with the exception of NSW have reduced class sizes or have made commitments to do so.

The coalition as we have seen tonight have recognised the need to reduce class sizes - that is positive. But they are also fudging the outcome that is required by promising reductions in average class sizes.

'Average' is a deceptive term. Small classes in small rural schools will statistically mask the existence of much larger classes in other schools..

Also a disturbing aspect to the coalition's policy on class size reduction is their commitment to underwrite the reduction of class sizes in non-government schools. So just when we think we have positive engagement with the party that brought us Terry Metherell we end up with another excuse to fund the private education system.

The Vinson inquiry correctly identified the urgent need to improve teachers' salaries. As we were in 1999, The Greens are committed to paying public sector teachers professional salaries that recognise both the difficulty and the importance of their work. This is not just a matter of attracting and maintaining quality young teachers, it is an issue of wage justice.

In 1972 teachers were on 150% of average weekly earnings, which put them about on par with MPs. Now a teacher's wage is just over 100% of average weekly earnings and not surprisingly it is far below the pay an MP receives.

The Greens support the Vinson recommendation of an immediate 5% increase, although we feel this should be seen as only a beginning. We are calling for a bipartisan approach from the Labor and Liberal leadership to restore teacher salaries to 150% of average weekly earnings by the end of this decade.

We must hold the Minister to his commitment that there will be no repeat of the 1999 teachers' salaries dispute. I would like to hear a similar guarantee from the Premier who was down in the gutter with Aquilina and the Telegraph in vilifying teachers in 1999.

Those type of attacks undermine the morale of teachers and undermine the confidence of parents in the public school system. The Greens are committed to the other key recommendations of the Vinson inquiry.

We have heard the Opposition tonight commit to life professional development funding for teachers to $800 and $1,200 for teachers in rural and regional NSW. If the government does not come on board the Greens will work with the Coalition in the Upper House to legislate on professional development funding.

The Greens support removing the cap on funding of students with special needs. Once a student is assessed as having a need, funds must be provided to the school to secure that child's education and that of the rest of the class.

The Greens have a strong track record of campaigning for increases in TAFE funding at both the state and federal levels. We are committed to continuing this campaign until TAFE receives growth funds that fully match the growth in demand and per student funding has been significantly increased in real terms. These days privatisation comes in many guises . The Greens are opposed to privately funded public infrastructure in education and elsewhere.

Some people say to us it is one thing for the Greens to proclaim their commitment to public education, but how can NSW pay for it. The money is most definitely available.

The $40 million that the NSW government currently gives each year to the wealthiest private schools, should come back to public schools; along with the $120 million increase in Federal funding since 2000 that can be taken out of the State's funding of the other private schools. This money along with funds from sources identified by the Vinson Inquiry and other sources identified by the Greens we estimate come to over $1000 million. The sources for this funding include - · reducing interest subsidies paid on loans for new buildings at wealthy private schools; · means testing the back to school allowance; · removing the rorts from the School Students Transport Subsidies; · redirecting corporate welfare and · equalising club and hotel poker machine taxation.

So the money is there - all it takes is political will and a commitment to public education.

The Greens give a commitment that we will continue to use our Parliamentary representation to put the strongest pressure on the next government to deliver on the Vinson recommendations.

We went to the 1999 state election on a promise to back public education and in particular to tackle state funding of the wealthy private schools and we did just that.

It was a great moment I believe for public education and for progressive politics when the Greens Education Amendment Bill was debated in the NSW Parliament. Our Bill would have ended the funding of elite private schools. It would have returned the money to public schools serving disadvantaged communities.

We have had a motion backing the teachers in their 1999 salary dispute passed by the Upper House.

In 2000 the Greens mounted a strong campaign against the Howard government State Grants Act, which granted massive increases in funding to private schools;

Before I leave this point a small comment - neither the govt nor the opposition in their main contribution spoke about private schools. We have heard a lot of fine words about public education, as there should be, but I put it to you that if you hear from an MP or a budding MP singing the praises of public schools but failing to address private school funding then your alarm bells should ring.

And last year we worked with many communities in campaigning to stop public school closures, and we had some great wins. I did note that those once favourite Labor words building the future did not get a look in tonight. It might be buried but it is not forgotten. The election is just over four weeks away, and bets are on that Labor will be returned. There is one clear message Minister that you need to take from this forum - public education deserves better.

We deserve better from a Carr Labor government, as there is an urgent need to build public confidence in public education and boost teacher morale.

We deserve better from a Carr Labor government because federally we are up against a malicious Coalition government that is intent on residualisation of public education.

And we deserve better from a Carr Labor government because the Labor party has had a proud tradition of bringing education to the children of the working class in this country.

Many of us are products of that advance. In my own family I was the first to complete secondary school and go on to a tertiary education.

But as we move into the 21st century education in this country seems to have been transported back to the hard times of the later 1890s. Uncertainty and confusion, privilege and self-interest should play no part in public education.

Today there is a powerful public voice for public education, and growing support to tackle the private schools funding issue.

Members of the Greens are strongly committed to campaigning for public education both inside and outside Parliament.

Public education moulds our society. When our schools buzz with vitality we can all share in the success of our common future.

The Greens are committed to reducing class sizes. All public school classes from kindergarten to year 3 should have no more than 20 students.

Tonight we have heard the minister again equivocate on reducing class sizes.

Minister the jury is not out on this issue - the evidence is in. I urge that you and the premier with an open mind read the Vinson Inquiry and find out why the case for smaller class sizes is so clear cut.

The Greens message to the Labor government is just do it - reduce class sizes for K to 3 now.

The simple truth about smaller class sizes is that they allow our teachers to spend more time teaching. with massive and long lasting benefits to the students, to the school and to society.

All Australian states with the exception of NSW have reduced class sizes or have made commitments to do so.

The coalition as we have seen tonight have recognised the need to reduce class sizes - that is positive. But they are also fudging the outcome that is required by promising reductions in average class sizes.

'Average' is a deceptive term. Small classes in small rural schools will statistically mask the existence of much larger classes in other schools..

Also a disturbing aspect to the coalition's policy on class size reduction is their commitment to underwrite the reduction of class sizes in non-government schools. So just when we think we have positive engagement with the party that brought us Terry Metherell we end up with another excuse to fund the private education system.

The Vinson inquiry correctly identified the urgent need to improve teachers' salaries. As we were in 1999, The Greens are committed to paying public sector teachers professional salaries that recognise both the difficulty and the importance of their work. This is not just a matter of attracting and maintaining quality young teachers, it is an issue of wage justice.

In 1972 teachers were on 150% of average weekly earnings, which put them about on par with MPs. Now a teacher's wage is just over 100% of average weekly earnings and not surprisingly it is far below the pay an MP receives.

The Greens support the Vinson recommendation of an immediate 5% increase, although we feel this should be seen as only a beginning. We are calling for a bipartisan approach from the Labor and Liberal leadership to restore teacher salaries to 150% of average weekly earnings by the end of this decade.

We must hold the Minister to his commitment that there will be no repeat of the 1999 teachers' salaries dispute. I would like to hear a similar guarantee from the Premier who was down in the gutter with Aquilina and the Telegraph in vilifying teachers in 1999.

Those type of attacks undermine the morale of teachers and undermine the confidence of parents in the public school system. The Greens are committed to the other key recommendations of the Vinson inquiry.

We have heard the Opposition tonight commit to life professional development funding for teachers to $800 and $1,200 for teachers in rural and regional NSW. If the government does not come on board the Greens will work with the Coalition in the Upper House to legislate on professional development funding.

The Greens support removing the cap on funding of students with special needs. Once a student is assessed as having a need, funds must be provided to the school to secure that child's education and that of the rest of the class.

The Greens have a strong track record of campaigning for increases in TAFE funding at both the state and federal levels. We are committed to continuing this campaign until TAFE receives growth funds that fully match the growth in demand and per student funding has been significantly increased in real terms. These days privatisation comes in many guises . The Greens are opposed to privately funded public infrastructure in education and elsewhere.

Some people say to us it is one thing for the Greens to proclaim their commitment to public education, but how can NSW pay for it. The money is most definitely available.

The $40 million that the NSW government currently gives each year to the wealthiest private schools, should come back to public schools; along with the $120 million increase in Federal funding since 2000 that can be taken out of the State's funding of the other private schools. This money along with funds from sources identified by the Vinson Inquiry and other sources identified by the Greens we estimate come to over $1000 million. The sources for this funding include - · reducing interest subsidies paid on loans for new buildings at wealthy private schools; · means testing the back to school allowance; · removing the rorts from the School Students Transport Subsidies; · redirecting corporate welfare and · equalising club and hotel poker machine taxation.

So the money is there - all it takes is political will and a commitment to public education.

The Greens give a commitment that we will continue to use our Parliamentary representation to put the strongest pressure on the next government to deliver on the Vinson recommendations.

We went to the 1999 state election on a promise to back public education and in particular to tackle state funding of the wealthy private schools and we did just that.

It was a great moment I believe for public education and for progressive politics when the Greens Education Amendment Bill was debated in the NSW Parliament. Our Bill would have ended the funding of elite private schools. It would have returned the money to public schools serving disadvantaged communities.

We have had a motion backing the teachers in their 1999 salary dispute passed by the Upper House.

In 2000 the Greens mounted a strong campaign against the Howard government State Grants Act, which granted massive increases in funding to private schools;

Before I leave this point a small comment - neither the govt nor the opposition in their main contribution spoke about private schools. We have heard a lot of fine words about public education, as there should be, but I put it to you that if you hear from an MP or a budding MP singing the praises of public schools but failing to address private school funding then your alarm bells should ring.

And last year we worked with many communities in campaigning to stop public school closures, and we had some great wins. I did note that those once favourite Labor words building the future did not get a look in tonight. It might be buried but it is not forgotten. The election is just over four weeks away, and bets are on that Labor will be returned. There is one clear message Minister that you need to take from this forum - public education deserves better.

We deserve better from a Carr Labor government, as there is an urgent need to build public confidence in public education and boost teacher morale.

We deserve better from a Carr Labor government because federally we are up against a malicious Coalition government that is intent on residualisation of public education.

And we deserve better from a Carr Labor government because the Labor party has had a proud tradition of bringing education to the children of the working class in this country.

Many of us are products of that advance. In my own family I was the first to complete secondary school and go on to a tertiary education.

But as we move into the 21st century education in this country seems to have been transported back to the hard times of the later 1890s. Uncertainty and confusion, privilege and self-interest should play no part in public education.

Today there is a powerful public voice for public education, and growing support to tackle the private schools funding issue.