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- 31 May 2001
School Closures
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Speakers - Moore Ms Clover
Business - Private Members Statements
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Page: 14201
Ms MOORE (Bligh) [5.43 p.m.]: In the early 1990s I shared many platforms with the then Opposition spokesperson on education, John Aquilina. We were opposing Terry Metherell's plans to close local schools without reference to the local community. I am really quite shocked that in 2001 Minister John Aquilina plans to close local schools, again without input from our communities. I urge the Minister to withdraw his school closure proposal and support calls from recent public meetings for genuine consultation over a 12-month period with the affected school communities to develop a responsible proposal. A range of alternatives must be canvassed so that an informed decision can be made. I do not believe that has been the case up to this point.
Minister Aquilina's proposal does not anticipate the dramatically changing nature of south-eastern Sydney. Government policies of urban consolidation project huge population increases in that area, with the Green Square development to add an extra 30,000 residents. In advocating school closures in inner-city areas undergoing urban renewal, the Minister is at cross-purposes with his own Government's urban consolidation policies. I have to ask whether or not this a case of the right hand not knowing what the left is doing. The Government was warned in 1997 against selling school assets in suburbs undergoing urban renewal by the education department's property director. We should bear in mind that, under Premier Kennett, a sell-off of schools in Victoria later backfired when new school sites had to be bought up in inner Melbourne due to urban renewal.
Further, the proposal does not have a sound educational basis, nor does it consider welfare implications, and parent choices of schools. The proposal contains no information about how this model was developed. There is no evidence of the pros and cons of comprehensive schools, which 85 per cent of students in New South Wales government schools currently attend. Despite this lack of research, Building the Future marks a shift towards single-sex and selective schools. The plan fails to address falling enrolments as well as high rates of school non-attendance. The 1996 census figures indicate that non-attendance rates in the South Sydney local government area for both primary and high school students were much higher than the State average.
Larger centralised schools could exacerbate non-attendance rates. Students who already face major obstacles on their way to school will have further to travel under the current proposal. Redfern and Waterloo contain much low-cost housing for some of the most disadvantaged communities in New South Wales. Requiring children who are already struggling to attend school—due to inadequate family or social support—to travel greater distances to school can only impede their access to education, and increase their social disadvantage.
Building the Future fails to acknowledge the importance of locally based schooling, and the vital role that schools play within local communities. The Government has recognised the need for community building in this area by implementing the Redfern-Waterloo project. Closing local schools flies in the face of the Government's Strengthening Communities initiatives. An alternative to Building the Future has been developed by a working party—which I asked the Minister about today in question time—comprising members of the Aboriginal Education Consultative Forum, the Teachers Federation and staff from local schools. Amongst the recommendations of the working party is a proposal to establish a primary-to-year-12 school at Cleveland Street High School. This alternative community-driven proposal has been developed in recognition of high local adult unemployment rates, socioeconomic disadvantage, and the potential impact of urban consolidation. It seeks to address factors contributing to students failing to complete high school.
The proposal acknowledges the need to continue working with students banned from other schools, or with juvenile justice issues. Those consulted in its development do not believe that segregating "students with challenging behaviours" will address their needs. Instead, difficult students need a small school with specific welfare and behaviour management programs, which also attracts students not considered "difficult", and which does not exacerbate existing disadvantage by "ghetto-ising" students. The project acknowledges the needs of the area's significant Aboriginal population and emphasises the importance of counteracting historic and continuing alienation of Aboriginal students from the education system, and reflects extensive consultation with local Aboriginal people. The proposal seeks to address the multiple disadvantaged which may impede Aboriginal students learning.
Those involved with this alternative proposal have called for the retention of a secondary campus in the area, genuine consultation within a realistic time frame, funding for a working party to drive the consultation process, and a 20-year commitment to develop and implement the facility. These demands are the minimum requirements. The Government received a $600 million stamp duty windfall last year, and some of this revenue should be spent on infrastructure and services for the existing and increasing population. Building the Future simply marks the continued reduction of government investment and degradation of services in south-eastern Sydney, while the population dramatically increases.
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