TEACHERS' CONFERENCE

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (14:50): My question is to the Minister for Education—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Deputy leader, order!

The Hon. P. Caica interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Minister for Environment, order, or you will go too; you will both go.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. Caica interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Minister, order! Member for Florey.

Ms BEDFORD: My question is to the Minister for Education and Child Development. Can the minister inform the house about the forthcoming inaugural South Australian teachers' conference in Adelaide and how this will assist teachers in their day-to-day classroom teaching practice?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Education and Child Development) (14:50): I would like to thank the member for Florey for this very important question. The intention to directly involve teachers in helping to shape this important conference was flagged by an education policy discussion paper that was made available—and released, in fact—last year by the now Premier. In that discussion paper there were a number of matters raised; a number of practical ways that we as an entire community might better recognise, respect and value the role of our teachers. Those aspirations are important, because the research tells all of us that it is quality of teaching that is the biggest single factor that determines how well a student does.

I am delighted to report that around 400 of our teachers from across the state will take part in this conference on Monday to share their ideas and practical experiences. I am very pleased to report that the discussions will focus on a professional development resource for teachers called the TfEL program, that is the Teaching for Effective Learning framework. It is this sort of support of professional development that assists our teachers—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: This is an internationally-recognised program that is being ridiculed by members opposite.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: That's why we must respect and support our teachers to do their work, as opposed to having them live in fear of losing their jobs—kind of New South Wales and Queensland style. In fact—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: Gee, I wonder why. It was the New South Wales government, that those opposite would have us emulate, that just recently announced a cut of $1.7 billion to their budget, and we now know that those opposite intend to do exactly the same thing.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Point of order: the question was very clearly asking the minister to inform the house about the conference and nothing else, so the minister is debating.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! If the minister is talking about the general subject matter then it is relevant.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: In closing, I am very pleased to report that this conference is a fantastic opportunity for our teachers to work together to examine the fundamentals of effective teaching, because that is key here, and the way teachers can inspire and spark creativity and innovation in the classroom. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many teachers, leaders, researchers and student support officers who day in and day out do a fantastic job in supporting our students.