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- 7 June 2007
Trade Schools
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The Hon. PENNY SHARPE: My question is addressed to the Minister for Education and Training. Will the Minister inform the House about the impact of recent proposals to encourage business involvement in schools?
The Hon. JOHN DELLA BOSCA: I am very keen to answer the honourable member's question. I thank her for her ongoing interest in education. Regrettably, the Howard Government is again attempting to dodge its responsibility for adequately funding schools. Engaging industry in our schools is important, particularly in vocational education and training, but it should never be a substitute for proper government funding. The Federal education Minister, Julie Bishop, claimed recently that, "it is almost beyond the capacity of any one government to resource schools". What an astonishing statement. The Federal Government has a surplus of $13.6 billion, yet the Minister claims it does not have enough money to fund schools. Clearly it has plenty of money—only the will has been lacking, as well as policy ideas.
The Commonwealth Government should be using its massive resource advantage to get behind what we are doing for education and training in New South Wales, instead of coming up with half-baked ideas for palming off its responsibilities. We need Canberra to sit down with the States and Territories to look at how we can best resource all schools and training providers to meet the challenges of the future. Instead, the Commonwealth is setting up its own programs, many of which duplicate what the States and Territories are already doing.
The Iemma Government is leading the way in getting industry on board in our schools, particularly in trades and vocational education and training. We have done this sensibly and without losing sight of our responsibility for the outcomes. For example, we have announced plans to establish 25 trade schools offering school-based apprenticeships and traineeships. Trade schools are being established in existing high schools and in technical and further education colleges, allowing students to take part in school-based apprenticeships, school-based traineeships and other vocational training while completing their Higher School Certificate.
The Iemma Government's trade school initiative has been welcomed by key New South Wales employers, including Australian Business Limited, the Housing Industry Association and the NRMA. Unlike the Commonwealth's Australian technical colleges, our trade schools enhance what is on offer at comprehensive high schools, and offer programs that expand options for students. By contrast, the Howard Government's Australian technical colleges are expensive and duplicate what is already available. If they ever get up and running properly, they will only serve to stream students down a narrow vocational pathway.
When it comes to involving private investment in our capital program, New South Wales is the national benchmark. Our public-private partnerships deliver new, state-of-the-art school facilities at a low cost to the taxpayer, without the Government surrendering any of its responsibility for the quality of the education. Trade skills and our public private partnerships are two examples of how the business and educational sectors are working alongside each other with great success in New South Wales.
Julie Bishop and her Canberra colleagues are once again demonstrating how ignorant and out of touch they are. Julie Bishop is not just talking about business taking over our schools; she has also come up with the idea that teachers need to do work experience. She has failed to notice that teachers have a job, and an important one at that. They are highly trained professionals. They are not out of touch with the workforce; they are in the workforce. Clearly Julie Bishop is out of touch. She should get some work experience. I suggest that she gets on with the real job of ensuring that her Government provides adequate funding for schools, here in New South Wales and right across the nation.
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