House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1) 52 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Education Department Redundancies EDUCATION DEPARTMENT REDUNDANCIES Mr PISONI House of Assembly Unley EDUCATION DEPARTMENT REDUNDANCIES Mr PISONI (Unley) (14:58): Supplementary, Madam Speaker, if I may. Will permanent teachers be subject to forced redundancies after the next election? The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: I think that's a question; that's not a supplementary question. Minister. The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly Cheltenham Minister for Education Minister for Early Childhood Development Minister for Science and Information Economy The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Education, Minister for Early Childhood Development, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:58): We have a need for teachers. Through the last budget, we have created an extraordinary extra number of teachers that are required in the system. We have an ageing teaching workforce. We have a workforce where 53 per cent of our teachers are over the age of 50. We are going to have teachers cascading out of our education system in the coming years, so we will be needing teachers. It will not be a question of making teachers redundant. The changes that have been brought about through the budget have not been directed at teachers. We are adding teachers. We are adding front-line services. The question just simply does not arise. The question does not arise. We have expanded the number of teachers, and any of the savings measures that are contained within the budget are focused entirely on those positions that are found in our head office and our regional offices. So, the question simply does not apply and I stand by the government's policies in relation to these matters announced at the budget by the Treasurer. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order!