School Christmas Concerts

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:25): My question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, what has been the community reaction to the AEU decision to force some schools to hold their Christmas concerts at times when working parents cannot attend?

The Hon. R.P. Wortley: You love attacking the teachers, don't you? Now the nurses. You are attacking the teachers and the nurses. What do you stand for? What do you actually stand for?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:26): It's good to hear the Australian Labor Party, through the former president of this chamber, the Hon. Mr Wortley, defending the actions of union bosses in the teachers union in what they have done and announced in recent days. So that's disappointing. In answer to the honourable member's genuine question, there has been an enormous community reaction to this crazy decision by the union bosses in the teachers union to, in essence, prevent many working parents from being able to attend the Christmas celebration of their kids at their local school.

I ask members, particularly those of the Labor Party who are defending this decision, to put themselves in the position of those young kids at primary school who work hard in terms of their Christmas celebration, their concert, and who, because of the union bosses in the teachers union, at 10 o'clock on a Tuesday morning, when they look out into the audience to see the smiling face of their mum or their dad, or their grandmum or their grandad, won't see the smiling face of their mum, dad or grandparent because they have to work at 10 o'clock on a Tuesday.

That's the sort of decision by the union bosses, who are so out of touch with community and parent reaction, and that is now being supported by members of the Labor Party in this particular chamber, that demonstrates how out of touch the union bosses are in relation to these particular issues. There has been enormous community outrage, as demonstrated by talkback radio—texts and callers to talkback radio stations—about the extraordinary position of the Australian Education Union.

Interestingly, the phone of Mr Howard Spreadbury, who was meant to do a radio interview, had a problem all of a sudden and he couldn't actually engage in the debate on the ABC. Mr Andrew Cole, who is described on AEU websites as the chief organiser for the Australian Education Union but in fact was a former president of the Australian Education Union going back many years, when asked to defend why he could defend a position where working parents were not going to be able to get to see their kids' school concert said the following:

It's really about…if parents are keen to see their children to be involved in those performances then they take their time off from work, it's like what they're asking us to do, like asking teachers to do...

Mr Byner said:

So you're saying to the parents…if you don't like it you give up your time and you do it in the morning when it's convenient for us...

Mr Andrew Cole said:

If seeing children perform is a priority then parents will make the commitment to go and see their children perform.

Mr Andrew Cole just kicked the biggest own goal in the teachers union history. This is an indication of how out of touch the union bosses in the Australian Education Union are and how out of touch the Hon. Mr Hunter, the Hon. Mr Wortley and all the members of the Labor Party are, who demonstrate their support for the out-of-touch attitude of the union bosses—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I can't hear the minister.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —within the Australian Education Union. The taxpayers of South Australia have made an extraordinarily generous offer to the teachers of South Australia—2.35 per cent, then 3.35 per cent—

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Point of order: in a question time when we are getting through many questions in order to give the crossbenchers as great a chance as possible, the Treasurer has now been talking for quite some time on his own government question.

The PRESIDENT: I am actually keeping the time on the Treasurer: he has about a minute left.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —3.35 per cent for principals and preschool directors, particularly at a time when the inflation rate has been in and around 1.5 per cent (or maybe a little bit higher), together with very significant additional support for teachers within the classroom by way of extra support up to $40 million over 3½ years. It is an extraordinarily generous offer the taxpayers of South Australia have made to the teachers, and it has been repaid in kind by the out-of-touch union bosses like Mr Andrew Cole and others who have demonstrated how out of touch they are with community and parent reaction.

Members interjecting: