LNP Response to Education green paper
Thursday, 25 March 2010 12:12
This week in parliament I released the LNP’s response to the government’s green paper (A Flying Start).
I am very concerned that whilst the government’s green paper purports to be a consultation document, it lacks any of the serious detail that is needed to consider the magnitude of the reforms that the government is proposing. In relation to the transfer of Year 7 from primary school to high school, it is presented as a government decision that is already a fait accompli.This discussion paper does not deal with the recurrent expenditure that would be necessary to fund an additional 40,000 high school students. It also fails to deal with the future of 1,800 Year 7 primary school teachers. Similarly it fails to deal with where we will get the required number of specialist teachers. It does not deal with any new high schools despite many of Queensland’s high schools being at or above capacity. It fails to give any information to the private school sector which will be hit by a dramatic decline in their primary school enrolments and a substantial expansion to their high schools.
It fails to deal with the effect of possible closures on primary schools that have depleted numbers and it fails to give people any alternatives even for discussion purposes, such as middle schooling.
There are of course areas where we support the government’s reforms and I do invite you to read our paper. Please click here to read the LNP paper.
To read my speeches to parliament on this issue please click here and here.