Grievance Debate

SCHOOL AMALGAMATIONS

Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (15:16): I am pleased to have the opportunity to talk about the Stradbroke and Athelstone primary and junior primary schools this afternoon, and, of course, these schools are among the 42 schools that the government has slated for forced amalgamation in the coming year. It is a great shame that the communities of these schools have basically been told that the government is not particularly interested in hearing what they have to say about the future of their schools.

The act, of course, requires that these schools will go through the process of consulting their school communities, and that process is happening right now. The act requires that the minister then receives that report. I will get to what the outcome is going to be, but I do not think that it will surprise members that, if the outcome of that report is that the schools and their communities do not wish to amalgamate, this Labor government has signalled to these schools (through its budget last year) that their opinions and their wishes are not of interest to this government.

I was pleased to provide submissions to the reviews of both the Stradbroke and Athelstone schools. I should signal a potential conflict of interest in that, living next to the Stradbroke Primary School, as I do, we have every intention when the time comes of sending children there; so, I certainly have a particularly personal desire, in addition to being the local member, for that school to go well.

A forced amalgamation of these schools will result in the loss of approximately $280,000 of annual funding. It will have a negative effect on the education, social and economic needs of the schools. They will lose their principals at a junior primary level—and at a time yesterday the Minister for Education, who purports to have this view that you should consult before you decide rather than announcing and then defending (everything that he claims to stand for) is betrayed. The lie of it is betrayed by the evidence of this program of forced amalgamations.

The schools, of course, will have not only the immediate cash loss, that $280,000 worth of funding that is going to take away the emphasis in the junior primary years that the education minister claims to be so important (and, in fact, we know is so important) but there is also a hidden increase in their costs as well because the new schools will be significantly larger. The schools will be required to employ principals on higher salaries to compensate for that, and so the actual loss in real terms is closer to a third of a million dollars each.

In the past, many schools around the state have been encouraged to amalgamate by this government and others before them and, in doing so, the governments have put on the table significant capital works projects that are going to assist those schools. Nothing of the sort is the case in this instance. Indeed, even the paltry capital works that have been signalled for the 42 schools around South Australia to merge administration blocks are not even necessary in these two schools, so they will get nothing. They will be given just the stick but not the carrot.

Parents have chosen Stradbroke and Athelstone schools because they want this early years focus. A number of parents have put in submissions saying that they have, in fact, moved to be near these schools because they are so happy with the public option that is available there. At a time when there is a flow—and there has been a flow for the last 10 to 12 years—of parents and students choosing the private system over the public system, if we want to offer an excellent public system, it requires that there be choice available for those parents, and that those parents who see public options that will suit their families should be rewarded for doing so. In this case we see the government punishing them.

Tomorrow I will be lodging petitions from both schools, but we understand already, for example, that of 151 submissions to the Stradbroke school amalgamation review from the Stradbroke school community, 151 are opposed to the amalgamation. I wait to see the response from this education minister, who purports that he is going to be the consult and decide premier, as to what he will do with that information regarding these 42 school amalgamations. If any of them comes back saying that the school community wants to amalgamate, then so be it, that is good for them; but, if they come back saying that the school community has been engaged by the government in this consultation and the government ignores the results of those consultations, then the minister, soon to be premier, will stand condemned as not being a man true to his word and the principle that he has espoused.

The public deserves for its point of view to be taken into account, and I hope sincerely that the sports programs, the help for students with learning difficulties, the early years focus and the music and languages programs that currently are offered at these schools are not going to be devastated and undermined by this significant cut to all of these schools. I know, though, that the truth is going to be different if the government continues down this track. I urge the minister and the new premier to revisit this policy.