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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
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Teachers Registration and Standards (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading (resumed on motion).

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (15:50): Before I sought leave to continue my remarks, I was referring to the tremendous developments that have taken place over the course of the last year or so, in particular at Heathfield High School. I starting talking about the launch of the Entrepreneurial Specialist Learning Program at Heathfield High School. I had the honour of attending the launch event, representing the Minister for Education, on 24 February this year.

As an occasion that preceded these new constrained conditions of the global pandemic, it was a very happy and well-attended occasion. The state's Chief Entrepreneur, Jim Whalley, was present, as was our host, principal Roy Page—and a very proud principal he was to lead the launch of a program that Heathfield High School has been fortunate to be able to participate in as one of the state's schools leading the charge on a program I very much hope may be expanded. We will look closely to see Heathfield High School's progress on that front.

I look forward to visiting Heathfield High School tomorrow morning and looking at the legal studies class and aspects of their work in relation to the role of various aspects of law and justice, including the functions of this place. I will endeavour to engage with them to shed as good a light as I can on the productive nature of the work that we do here in this chamber. One of the stand-out privileges I have enjoyed over the course of my time as the member for Heysen is engaging so effectively and constructively with those two high schools within Heysen. I very much look forward to continuing to do so with principal Ian Kent at Eastern Fleurieu and his able governing council chair, Sue Miller, as well as with principal Roy Page at Heathfield High School. They all do tremendous work.

It is said often and cannot be stated enough that teachers are in the service of a truly noble vocation. The work teachers do to provide opportunities for children to be educated, to be exposed to the opportunity to learn, to expand horizons and to take opportunities in life cannot be overstated. I am fortunate that my mother was a schoolteacher and worked in numerous other education roles in the course of her professional teaching career. I have seen through my mother's work as a teacher an example of that extraordinary dedication to the vocation and a daily appreciation of what a teacher gives to a student.

To really bring home that point, one thing that has been made very clear in the course of navigating this global pandemic is the tremendous benefit to students of being in the learning environment in the classroom. That is the ideal setting within which students can receive the benefit of that tremendous expertise. They also have the benefit that we all enjoy when meeting as a group of people in the same place and interacting with each other. We know that is true from both a pedagogical point of view and a social point of view, and in so many other ways, when schoolchildren are at school, having the opportunity to learn from their schoolteachers.

When measures were adapted and significant resources were devoted towards the end of term 1 this year to be ready for anything, to be ready to deliver education in an unprecedented new way by way of a remote learning model, I was certainly proud to see the government and the department put in place the steps of that model if that was going to be necessary. It was wonderful to see the teachers adapt to that possible necessity should the health advice have directed that way. It was always done with a sense of that being the alternative, being something that you would do if it was necessary, but certainly not something that we would aspire to carry on any longer than necessary.

As a parent of three school-age children, having seen the way in which those children and their various cohorts dealt with the end of term 1, then worked their way through the school holidays and anticipated all eventualities in the lead-up to the commencement of term 2, I could see the huge relief that my children felt and the great keenness that they had to get back to school. Similarly, I heard from so many teachers in our local area about their keenness to do just that as well, to restore that ideal model of being back at school.

I am just delighted, going from the commencement of school over those first days back and now here we are a couple of weeks in, that we have seen such a tremendous community response, school and teacher response to have nearly every single student back at school in the ordinary way, with absenteeism at an unusually low level. At the same time, having prepared ourselves, we were in a position to deliver that alternative model of online learning to those students and families who require it in the context of this global pandemic.

It is against that background in particular that I turn to reflect on clause 7 of the bill. There is all the more reason to do so, because not only does clause 7 propose meritorious changes by way of amending section 9 in terms of the proposed composition of the board but we have before us a proposed amendment to that clause that I think lays bare an unfortunate adherence to ideology on the part of those opposite.

It is unfortunate, and in my view it is somewhat embarrassing to them, that they find themselves bound to advocate for a particular group of industrial vested interests in the context of what is really a much bigger and broader set of aspirations towards the most meritorious outcomes in the interests of our students.

The member for Wright noted that these new arrangements, the subject of clause 7 somehow result in the stacking of the Teachers Registration Board by the minister. If what is proposed in clause 7 is the stacking of the board, then I would characterise that as a stacking according to merit. We are now going to have a board that is going to be determined by merit.

Mr Boyer: Who are they? Who are the five to nine people?

The ACTING SPEAKER (Dr Harvey): Order!

Mr TEAGUE: On the contrary. The subject of the amendment provides for a structure by which a 10-member board, bear in mind, would be selected, and five of those members, half of them, by two bodies—on the one hand, by a body that goes by the name of the Australian Education Union and by another body that goes by the name of the Independent Education Union. According to the amendment, these bodies would be the nominators of five of the members of the board. Under the government's model, alternatively, those bodies would be consulted, as would a range of other bodies, in the course of determining, according to merit, those who ought to be members of the board.

I urge that we do not confuse teachers and education on the one hand with the industrial bodies that bear that name and that, when we talk about the tremendous and valuable work that teachers do, we do not confuse that with the activities of unions that would conduct themselves and at times, I might say in recent times, in ways that teachers in their large numbers would be embarrassed by. In fact, we have seen the Australian Education Union in recent days—and, most unfortunately, in ways that teachers across the board would unanimously disown—seeking to cast aspersions upon the state's chief health officer and her recommendations as to the most meritorious steps that ought to be taken with respect to the health of our state as it concerns a return to school.

We saw the Australian Education Union taking a strident and ideological view of the matter—and I think so sadly missing an opportunity to highlight the great work that teachers do in the course of their vocation—in seeking to cast aspersions on the state's chief health officer. I very much hope that reasonable minded members of the community are watching this debate and considering the alternatives that are being proposed.

On the one hand, the government would propose that the board must have a practising teacher in the area of preschool education, a practising teacher in primary education, a practising teacher in secondary education, a legal practitioner and a parent, and a number of others who are selected after a call for expressions of interest on the one hand and, secondly, after the minister has regard to any submissions that may be made from a range of bodies, among others the unions to whom the opposition appears to be so beholden. That is a meritorious provision for the structure of the board: the alternative is not. I commend the bill.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Dr Harvey): The member for Flinders.

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (16:05): Thank you, Mr Acting Speaker. I think that is the right terminology. I know everyone calls you something different, but I think you are Acting Speaker today. Thank you for giving me the call, sir, and I rise to support the Teachers Registration and Standards (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2020.

The Teachers Registration and Standards (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2020 will amend the Teachers Registration and Standards Act 2004. The act came into play some 16 years ago. The intent of this bill is to modify the size and composition of the Teachers Registration Board, expand its functions and support the implementation of relevant recommendations from national reviews related to teacher registration. It will also improve oversight of persons granted special authorities to teach and address various other technical and operational issues with the act.

The initial intent and purpose of the Teachers Registration and Standards Act was to ensure that every teacher working in South Australia is appropriately qualified, competent to teach and a fit and proper person to have the care of children. It also establishes the board and provides it with the functions and powers it needs to administer and oversee the registration of over 35,000 teachers in government and non-government schools, preschools and early childhood services here in South Australia. The bill will amend the act to provide that the welfare and best interests of children is the paramount consideration in relation to the operation, administration and enforcement of this act.

The bill will provide a number of new functions for the board and codify and strengthen some existing activities that the board undertakes. The bill updates the provision for the membership of the board to provide improved flexibility in its size and composition, and that has been explored intently during the course of this debate. The bill will ensure that the board's membership includes practising teachers in the areas of preschool, primary and secondary education, the expertise of a legal practitioner and the perspective of a parent, representing the community interest. The board will also be able to draw on the expertise of persons who are not members should it be required.

The bill also includes various amendments to improve provisions of the act that enable the board to deal with unprofessional conduct, incompetence, incapacity and issues of fitness and propriety in the teaching profession. There are a number of amendments to the act to improve information sharing where necessary for the protection of children, which of course is paramount. These changes, amongst others in the bill, support the recommendations of the National Review of Teacher Registration and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Teaching is a vocation. It is not a word we use lightly. Of course, it is not just a job. It certainly is a vocation that requires much skill and dedication, and we all know across the board the incredible number of teachers in this state who demonstrate that skill and dedication. Our children of course are our most precious asset. They need to be in the charge of the most competent, capable and instructive teachers to ensure that their education not only is enjoyable but gives them an important grounding for the rest of their lives. Our teachers are entrusted with our children's education, but it is often so much more than that. It is often said that as parents—and I am a parent, as many of us in this place are and some are yet to be—

Mr Ellis: Even more of us have parents.

Mr TRELOAR: Even more of us have parents. Of course, we all do, member for Narungga. We often like to consider that we are the most important people in our children's lives, but I do not know that that is necessarily always the case because, when we send our children to school, all of a sudden often their teachers at school become the biggest influence and most important person in their lives, so, as I said, it is an incredible responsibility that we charge our teachers with.

At last count, there are 23 schools in the electorate of Flinders. That is more than most, but not as many as some. It is not as many perhaps as in the seat of Chaffey or in the seat of Stuart, which I think has over 40 schools, both public and private. Certainly, of the 23 schools in Flinders, I have visited them all at various stages in the past. I know all the schools well. They are filled with wonderful teachers and I also know many of the teachers well.

It is a pleasure—and I know regional members will agree with this—to walk into a country school and see it filled with great country kids. I am not taking anything away from their city counterparts, of course, but there is something special about country kids: their approach to education, their abilities in life and their 'comfort' in approaching adults, and I am going to use that word. They are comfortable and confident to approach adults, not just their teachers but their parents and the broader community as well, and I think that is a really strong asset that country kids have.

We as a state government are supporting our schools significantly across the state. The Minister for Education was talking today about the continuing rollout of fast internet across the state. My alma mater, Cummins Area School, is being connected today, as it happens, so I know that, as one of our bigger area schools in the seat of Flinders—I think we have well over 300 enrolments there—they will, as of today, be connected to the outside world by a very fast internet connection. The rollout continues right across the state, and it is critically important that our country schools have this superfast connection.

The building program continues, and we have been talking about that in the parliament this week as well. I did some media last week on the $15 million build that is going to occur at Port Lincoln High School. It is really exciting news, as one way or another I have been involved in lobbying for that for most of the last eight years. I am really pleased to see some of these building projects being rolled out and our students and teachers gaining the benefit of improved facilities. Of course, the educational result will be all the better as a result. I commend the bill to the house.

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (16:13): I rise today to enthusiastically support the Teachers Registration and Standards (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill that is before us as a valuable additional support for the vital work our teachers do.

As has been touched on quite a number of times during the debate today, the value of our teachers has never been more appreciated than right now during the current COVID-19 state of emergency, which has created such uncertainty for teachers and students and which saw them swing into action to provide online and classroom instruction and essentially prepare for any scenarios that were to impact the system as a result of this pandemic.

They have been working overtime and at home to keep our children and their families engaged in learning and with the school, helping parents become home study supervisors and, in doing so, no doubt taking on the role of counsellor as well as curriculum guide. Schools and teachers play a particular integral role in rural communities as hubs of community interaction and where teachers spill their leadership skills and care of children out into after-hours community organisations. They are sport coaches, community group fundraisers and committee members.

The bill before us expands the functions of the Teachers Registration Board to ensure our teachers are the best they can be with uniform and appropriate qualifications. This is all to ensure that the welfare and best interests of the children is, at all times, the overarching paramount consideration. The development of a code of conduct for registered teachers is included in the bill and, importantly, the recognition of the importance of quality teaching and leadership in the profession that is so vital to the future of this wonderful state. Good teachers set up our future leaders for life. All of us here would remember a special teacher who still stands out as a person who inspired us to become the best we could be.

Changes to membership of the Teachers Registration Board is an intent of this bill and I believe is of value in ensuring that appointment is based on knowledge, skills and experience. I also welcome the various amendments to improve the provisions of the act that enable the board to better deal with unprofessional conduct, incompetence, incapacity and issues of fitness and priority in the teaching profession.

I believe parents and caregivers in this state and all over the world have come to realise and fully appreciate how hard it is to teach children and keep them on track, interested and keen to learn. During this COVID-19 period, parents and caregivers have found themselves forced to become teachers, and much has been said and written about just how difficult this task is without appropriate quality qualifications. It is no simple task to just give students a book and tell them to read it, or set them a quiz or an essay and expect results.

People who choose to become teachers are special people with great patience, organisation skills and full awareness of the responsibility they have in forming the minds of young people into adults. This bill ensures the right people are provided with the best qualifications and support systems to perform their teaching role to the best of their ability. I am confident that if this bill is passed, the quality of teaching and the success of our students and their classroom learning can only be enriched as a result.

This government, Mr Deputy Speaker, as you would well know, recognises the value of teaching in schools, even more so universally now that we have all experienced recently what the world and communities look like without schools being open and without children having day-to-day classroom guidance from qualified and experienced teachers. Thus, in recent weeks I have been very pleased to be a party to announcements of various investments in Narungga schools, as further testament to the value this government places on our students, teachers and school facilities.

The Marshall government is investing $1.3 billion into education capital works at around 100 schools across South Australia to play a particularly important role in South Australia's economic recovery, whilst supporting our school communities. Many of these projects are scheduled to be completed before the end of next year, including, I am pleased to say, a $4 million upgrade of the Moonta Area School. Kadina Memorial School is three months ahead of schedule in replacing art, drama and music buildings, with planning and design works expected to be done by the end of June.

As a former student at Kadina Memorial School, resident within those art and music rooms some time ago now, I can attest that they were outdated at that point in time. They have not been replaced to date, but the fact that there is one coming is welcome news particularly for those teachers who, over the past few years, have had to endure what can only be described as substandard learning spaces.

I am sure it will be welcomed by the performing arts division of the Kadina Memorial School, which I am led to believe is the largest school outside of metropolitan Adelaide. Likewise, Bute Primary School is scheduled to finish a small project imminently. There is an upgrade planned for the special disability unit at Kadina Memorial School as part of the $10 million disability package that will deliver 180 places in specialised education options as part of the year 7 move.

Also, in May this government announced that every preschool in the state, including in Narungga, is to receive a grant of $20,000 to be used at each site's discretion. This is great news for these facilities and for local tradespeople as a potential job stimulus. There has also been over $1 million of school maintenance announced for the Narungga electorate. Recently we were pleased to tour the electorate with the Minister for Education to peruse where those works were likely to take place.

This is part of the state government's $32 million economic stimulus package to be rolled out this year. Seven local schools are to receive upgrades ranging from $85,000 to $227,000, all valuable support for our hardworking teaching professionals, who deserve the best facilities and resources that can be provided as we all work together for the best possible outcomes for our students in the state. Just down the road from my office in Maitland, Central Yorke School is receiving $227,000 of maintenance, as is Minlaton District School.

Snowtown Primary School and Wallaroo Mines Primary School are scheduled to receive around $100,000 and Port Broughton Area School will receive $65,000 to replace a dilapidated fence around the exterior of the property. It will help keep the kids playing on that oval safe from venturing too far off onto the road. As well as that, down the southern end of the peninsula Warooka Primary will receive $205,000 and Yorketown Area School will receive $85,000.

I would like to direct my enthusiasm at the decision to bring forward these long-awaited upgrades at these local schools, and 109 other government schools around the state, which, importantly, will provide work for local tradespeople and support jobs and business in the wake of this COVID-19 pandemic. All this investment builds on the record $1.3 billion of investment in capital works across the education system that will deliver a generational upgrade of school facilities across the state and provide vital jobs at a time when they are so sorely needed.

Further evidence of this government's recognition of the value of our education system, schools, teachers and students is the continued rollout of high-speed internet to all sites across the state. This investment in infrastructure and rollout of fibre-optic cable ensures that our schools and preschools have access to the fastest and most reliable cutting-edge technology to give our students the best start in life that a good education can provide, with such resources vital to support the delivery of innovative lessons and learning. All such investments vitally support the work of our teachers, just as the amendments in this bill before us add more support for the work they do and the valuable role our schools and teachers play in society, in our communities and our families in this state.

In the little time I have remaining, I would like to commend the Minister for Education for visiting the electorate of Narungga recently. As I mentioned before, we had the great pleasure of travelling quite extensively around the electorate and visiting a number of schools and interacting with the wonderful principals and teachers whom this bill will help. I would like to briefly outline the schools that we visited on that wonderful day. We stopped by at Mallala Primary School in the morning and caught up with the principal, Sharon. It is a wonderful school with a tremendous tight-knit community, and they were excited about what their future holds. It is a growing community in the north of Adelaide, with strong enrolments at the moment. It was really pleasing to see the optimism they have for the projects on their mind for expanding the school grounds.

We then went to Port Wakefield Primary School and visited the wonderful principal there, Kerri Blackwell. She had just done some leadership training through the Harvard leadership program and was really enthused about the lessons she could take from that training program and bring back to her school. We then moved on to Snowtown Primary where the principal is Patricia Boschetti. They have wonderful grounds there. It is a big area school with large grounds and plenty of room for the kids to run around and play in. They have a wonderful co-located preschool there.

We met the principal, Joelene Anderson, at Port Broughton Area School. We touched on the dire need for the new fence, and we informed Joelene that funding was coming for that fence and that those safety improvements would be made and the fence would be repaired in short order. She was thrilled with that and I know the entire school community is thrilled as well. At Wallaroo preschool we were able to offer the teachers and carers the insight that the fibre-optic cable was coming, and they informed the minister that that would make a tremendous difference to the value of their care and education at that preschool.

We also stopped at Wallaroo Primary School and St Mary MacKillop Primary in Wallaroo as well, a private Catholic school, and then on to Moonta Area School the next day. It was wonderful to catch up with Kirsty Amos, who is an extraordinarily productive principal who has a tremendous record of getting things done at her local school. The school has gone from strength to strength while she has been in charge, and I am sure she is thrilled about the recent announcement of $4 million of funding for her school. We then went all the way down to the wonderful Yorketown Area School, whose principal is Fiona Haselgrove.

I very much thank all those schools for hosting us on that trip. It was tremendous to see all the plans that were in place for improving their school grounds and facilities, and I am looking forward to doing it all again at the next available opportunity. I would like to commend the bill to the house emphatically.

Dr HARVEY (Newland) (16:24): I rise today to support the Teachers Registration and Standards (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill. Firstly, I would like to thank all teachers for everything they do, particularly during this difficult time over the last couple of months or so. We are certainly in unprecedented territory within this generation, facing a pandemic the likes of which the world has not seen for 100 years, since the Spanish flu pandemic. Pandemics have happened in the time in between but certainly not on this scale and causing the sort of disruption this particular one has.

It is a very fast-moving and changing environment, and our schools have been impacted quite dramatically as part of that process. Certainly, late last term effort was going into ensuring that our schools were geared up to be able to provide education for students at home. A lot of work over a very short time went into making that happen. Thankfully, the numbers of new cases of COVID-19 in South Australia had dramatically dropped off, and the advice became clearer that students would be safe at school, so the effort then went into ensuring that as many students as possible could be provided a face-to-face education, which we know is the best way to deliver an education. Teachers were obviously at the centre of the effort in ensuring that that could happen.

Just yesterday, the education minister in question time noted that about 90 per cent of students are back at school, which is a great result. I would really like to thank the teachers for the enormous effort and work that they have done to ensure that our students continue to learn. It is incredibly important. Given the health advice advising that schools were safe to open and the fact that we have also ensured schools would be open highlights just how important education is, which also highlights just how important the role of teachers are.

As many others have remarked, I think many parents now have a greater appreciation of the roles that teachers play, having tried to do some of that job themselves at home, whilst also trying to work at home in some cases. I think, if there is a silver lining, it is that there is a greater appreciation for the role that teachers play.

The bill before us today will amend the Teachers Registration and Standards Act 2004 to modify the size and composition of the Teachers Registration Board and expand its functions, support the implementation of relevant recommendations from national reviews related to teacher registration, improve oversight of persons granted special authorities to teach and address various other technical and operational issues with the act.

The purpose of the Teachers Registration and Standards Act is to ensure every teacher working in South Australia is appropriately qualified, competent to teach and a fit and proper person to have the care of children. The act establishes the board and provides it with the functions and powers it needs to administer and oversee the registration of over 35,000 teachers in government and non-government schools, preschools and early childhood services.

Since the commencement of the act there have been significant changes to the regulation of the teaching profession and findings of reviews such as the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The bill will amend the act to provide that the welfare and best interests of children is the paramount consideration in relation to the operation, administration and enforcement of this act.

The bill will provide a number of new functions to the board and codifies and strengthens some existing activities the board undertakes. This includes functions for the board to accredit initial teacher education programs, undertake or support reviews of research and data collection, develop and maintain a code of conduct for registered teachers, and recognise quality teaching and leadership in the teaching profession. The bill updates provisions for the membership of the board to provide improved flexibility in the size and composition of the board.

The government is introducing changes to ensure members of the board are appointed on the basis of the knowledge, skills and experience the board needs to carry out its functions effectively, rather than being almost entirely representative of stakeholder organisations, as at the moment. The bill will ensure that the board's membership includes practising teachers in the areas of preschool, primary and secondary education, the expertise of a legal practitioner and the perspective of a parent representing the community interest. It will also be able to draw on the expertise of persons who are not members of the board.

The term of registration will be extended from three years to five years and provide an option for the annual payment of fees for registration. Various amendments are included to improve the oversight of persons granted a special authority to teach to ensure that as far as possible they are subject to the same rigorous requirements as registered teachers. The bill also includes various amendments to improve provisions of the act that enable the board to deal with unprofessional conduct, incompetence, incapacity and issues of fitness and propriety in the teaching profession.

There are a number of amendments to the act to improve information sharing where necessary for the protection of children. These changes, amongst others in the bill, support recommendations of the National Review of Teacher Registration and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The development of the bill was subject to a significant amount of consultation, including extensive consultation with teachers and other stakeholders on potential reforms to the act in targeted consultation on a draft version of the bill. Feedback from stakeholders helped shape the final form of this bill.

I spoke earlier about the important role that teachers have played, particularly in recent times. I think it is also timely to talk about some of the other ways that the government is trying to support the important work of teachers with new infrastructure. I was very pleased to see, just in the last few days, the announcement of the new concept designs for the upgrade of Ardtornish Primary School. This is a fantastic local primary school led by principal Mr Mark Hanson, who has been a fantastic school leader for a long period of time and has a great track record, particularly in literacy in the early years. In fact, I believe he was seconded by the department to help roll out the year 1 phonics check, and he is a very passionate advocate for education, particularly in those early years, and he is getting some fantastic results.

The upgrade to the Ardtornish Primary School is $5 million and will include a new permanent modular building, a new breakout space with wet areas, new student and disability access toilets, new storage spaces, and new teacher preparation and withdrawal areas. The last time I visited the primary school with the Minister for Education, their high-speed broadband had just been connected, and the students and teachers were very excited about that. It is a fantastic local school, and I am very pleased to see some of those tired buildings being replaced with some fantastic new facilities.

I also recently visited St Agnes primary school and preschool with the Minister for Education, who announced the $32 million stimulus measure to fast-track school maintenance projects and also the $20,000 grant that went to every preschool within South Australia. We met with principal Sandee Ising and her team, who are doing a wonderful job. This is a fantastic local community school. I think Sandee, who is a local herself, has officially been the principal there since the beginning of this year and was in an acting role before that.

We have seen an enormous vote of confidence in this local school, with an increase in their student population and quite strong growth over the last couple of years. This school will see a $250,000 investment that will go to resurfacing their basketball courts, which are in the centre of the school, and this is a project I know students and staff are very excited to see completed. A number of other schools in my electorate are also benefiting from these stimulus measures—in fact, $1.6 million in total within my electorate—including St Agnes Primary School and also Tea Tree Gully Primary School, Kersbrook Primary School, Modbury Special School and Modbury High School.

While we were at St Agnes primary school, we visited the preschool as well, and the leader of the preschool team took us through their plans for their $20,000 grant to update, improve and modernise the kitchen area. It is in the centre of the room, so they will move it a bit more out of the way to give greater learning space for the students. This is a fantastic preschool that is actually zoned, given its popularity within the local area.

Another local school that has benefited from infrastructure investment in recent times is Modbury High School, which I visited a number of months ago with the minister. While we were there, we met a number of their fantastic local school leaders, and I would like to congratulate the principal, Ms Joanne Costa, and her team on all they do, as well as the importance they place on that student leadership.

They always place their student leaders at the centre of all that is happening at the school. An example of that was last year when I had the privilege of officially opening the new STEM Works facilities there: the entire event was run by the student leaders. On top of providing a fantastic education, it is about not only creating a strong local school community but also developing young people to be the leaders within their community in the future. The project at Modbury High School is a $7 million project that includes a new year 7 hub and landscaped area to replace eight ageing transportable classrooms.

I am very aware of those transportables. I know that every time I visit the school, if we are walking in the grounds I am always directed past them just to remind me that they are due for replacement, so I know the school community is very excited to see a new year 7 hub being built in place of those transportables. The project will also see the refurbishment of a courtyard between buildings and the creation of a new outdoor learning area. There will also be a new wellbeing area and the opening up of some other buildings into a courtyard area to provide a great open space. There is also going to be the refurbishment and extension of the tech studies building.

In closing, I would like to briefly talk about a leader from a school that actually is not in my electorate but it was my own high school many years ago now, namely, Xavier College. Occasionally, I am reminded of how long ago that was. I think some of those who are graduating from year 12 now perhaps were not born when I was at high school. Anyway, putting that aside, what I would like to do is to express my deepest condolences to the family, friends and school community of their recently retired principal, Mr Lynn Martin, who passed away last night.

Whilst I was not a student during his time as principal, he certainly took up the role very shortly after I graduated. My brother and my sister had been students during his time, and he remained principal at Xavier College for 16 years, up until the end of last year. As a former student, I was invited to attend Xavier College's 25th anniversary celebrations late last year. What struck me was the really strong and caring culture that had been built there and also that enormous building works had gone on during the time since I had left.

When I first started, the school was only four years old, so it was a new school and there was a lot of building works whilst I was there. Father Dennis Handley, who has also sadly since passed away, had also been a fantastic leader and had built a very good school there. That building work had continued for the entirety of that period Mr Martin had been principal. On my visit, it was very clear that he had done an incredible job, continuing to ensure that students at the school would have access to world-class facilities.

It was clear that Mr Martin was very much loved by students and staff, and he had dedicated much of his life to educating and developing the next generation to take on the world. I commend him for his commitment and for his service. May he rest in peace.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee) (16:39): I thank the member for Newland for his contribution and reflecting his passion for education, a shared passion of many members. It is an important bill that we consider at this time because the education system in South Australia is undergoing a transformation at the moment or at least embarking on one part of a transformation.

I was very proud to be part of a Labor government that allocated $694 million for upgrades to schools across South Australia, both regional and metro, with $250 million to upgrade STEM labs, which, as we have just heard from the member for Newland, are important and welcomed by the communities they assist. Nearly $300 million in three new schools is to be delivered, in partnership with the private sector as part of a PPP, after the success of the six superschools that were delivered over the past 10 years or so by the former Labor government.

Those three significant contributions for school upgrades, which comprise almost entirely the $1.3 billion being spent on the public school system, continue to be touted by those opposite as a Liberal government initiative, when of course nothing is further from the truth. We welcome their superintendence of the remainder of those programs; at least it was not cut in the first two budgets of this Liberal government, unlike so many other well-funded programs.

It is important to note that many teachers—and we should remind ourselves of what this bill seeks to do: it effectively seeks to reform the professional standards board of the teaching profession in South Australia—were working very hard to improve the education of children throughout the community in substandard accommodation. In my electorate, one of the schools that was in most dire need of upgrade was Seaton High School. Of that $694 million, $20 million was allocated towards that school. It is a very substantial capital injection that can deliver a very substantial improvement in facilities at that location.

In one sense, I am very pleased to see that the project is continuing, that the money is still available. I am a little disappointed that the specific application of some of that money has been redirected away from removing some of the older buildings, which were built in a time when asbestos was still used as a building material and which were, not just for that reason but for other reasons as well, no longer fit for purpose for students. Instead of replacing those buildings (and I am specifically thinking of the library) and replacing them with new fit-for-purpose buildings as well as new classrooms, the focus has been on new classrooms because, of course, this government is pursuing its reform of forcing year 7s to be taught in public high schools rather than in primary schools.

I always felt a bit uncomfortable about that, not because there is no research to support the assertion that this improves educational outcomes more so than having year 7s located in primary schools. I think that is a topic of empirical research where the jury is still well out for many reasons. At best, the results of those studies show that the educational outcomes are mixed. They are not better having year 7 in high school and they are not worse: the results are mixed. They are variable, so adopting that policy is really an exercise in substantially changing the nature of our primary schools in the public system and then the nature of our high schools.

Much of that $694 million has had to be repurposed away from the task of replacing outdated buildings, which professional teachers are required to teach in, and instead build classrooms solely for the purpose of accommodating those new cohorts of year 7 students in those areas. I think that is a great shame in that regard because it means that schools like Seaton High School will not get all the upgrades that were intended and of course much needed for that campus. They get upgrades, yes, and they are gratefully received, which is why they were provided by the former Labor government in the first place, but they do not replace all that needs to be replaced.

Year 7 changing from primary school to high school is also having other unsatisfactory and unfortunate consequences in my electorate. For example, Grange Primary School, an extremely popular primary school, if my memory serves me correctly was promised $6 million or $7 million for an upgrade in order to provide greater capacity because it is such a popular school. Families from both sides of Grange Road, in Grange, Henley Beach and also surrounding areas in the school zone, were flocking to the school, such was its reputation, the quality of its teaching and also its location in an ever-growing area of metropolitan Adelaide.

I was very disappointed to learn that, rather than that money being spent right now—works should be underway right now—works were delayed for a period of at least four years, if not five to six years. That is a great disappointment to the school community. The thinking of the education minister clearly is, 'Well, if we are taking year 7 out of that primary school and putting it into other high schools, whether it is Henley High School, Findon High School or even Seaton High School, then we don't need to expand the campus and capacity of Grange Primary School.' It is a very unpopular thing for that school community that those capital works, which were not just promised but funded, allocated and scheduled, have been delayed by a minimum of four years.

I am very pleased, though, that the former Labor government was not only able to commit money for the STEM program but actually able to get it spent in schools like Grange Primary School and Seaton High School. West Lakes Shore primary school also received a STEM upgrade and is also in line to receive a general school upgrade of a much larger dollar amount because that school, similar to Grange Primary School, is bursting at the seams when it comes to capacity.

There are other primary schools in my electorate that have not received funding—let's be honest—under both the former Labor government and the current Liberal government. This is something in my view that needs to be rectified either by the current Liberal government or a future Labor government. I am thinking specifically of Seaton Park Primary School, which is under the stewardship of a principal who has been there for a while now seeking to rebuild the school community and rebuild the school numbers.

Because of the popularity of other surrounding primary schools like Grange Primary School, parents have had a preference to head closer to the shore rather than perhaps stay close to home at Seaton Park Primary School. Likewise, one of the most extraordinary schools I have ever come across is Westport Primary School. It is an extraordinary school not only because of where it is located, the families who send their children there, the children who attend and the teachers who are there, but also because of the principal, Rebecca Huddy. She is just an extraordinary person and an extraordinary educator.

Perhaps, one of the most moving moments I have had in my time as a member of parliament was the first time I attended a year 7 graduation ceremony at Westport Primary School. It was not just a moment for year 7 students to get up and be part of presentations, to receive a recognition of the fact that they have finished year 7, it was also a chance for those year 7s to perform and, very touchingly, a chance for those year 7s to talk glowingly, if not on occasion lovingly, about their fellow students.

To hear a year 7 student stand on stage with the confidence that only current school students have—I certainly possessed none of that confidence when I was of a similar age—to speak publicly and to speak so movingly about their fellow students, is really deeply touching, and that is but one way I think that the principal and the teachers have brought a different approach to having an educating relationship with the schoolchildren there.

I still remember the principal, Ms Huddy, telling me that, when she got the commission to be principal of that school, she vowed to treat all the children at the school as if they were her own, and that is certainly the case with what I have witnessed at Westport Primary School. But it, like so many schools that were built over the last, say, 40 to 50 years, is in need of upgrade and, as I said, it is something that needs to be addressed in the future.

I will speak specifically about some of the elements of the bill. As we have heard from the member for Heysen, this bill was passed in 2004 and you would think it not unreasonable that, in excess of 15 years on, the bill, which deals with such a crucial profession in our community, is in receipt of a going-over and another look to make sure that what it provides for meets the requirements of the current education system and meets the requirements of the current teaching profession. I do not begrudge the minister for wanting to add or subtract things that make the act and the regime more relevant to the current teaching profession.

What I do take umbrage with though is the fact that, of a board of up to 14 members, the sum of the teaching representation on that board is only three. I would have thought that, just as we see in other professions that are regulated in similar ways by state law, we would be encouraging greater participation of members of the profession that is being regulated; after all, they are the ones at the coalface. They are the ones delivering those services that the government seeks to regulate through this legislation. It is not unreasonable that they find a greater voice.

I am not arguing for the entirety of the membership to be teachers. I am not even arguing really for a majority, but three out of 14 is not enough, particularly when the minister seeks not only to reduce the number of teachers but to increase the number of ministerial nominees who do not have, or are not required to have, such specific requirements related to the teaching profession as that cohort of teachers. The last thing we need is either a group of bean counters or other professions that have little connection with the teaching profession start working out what they think teachers should and should not be doing.

I am all in support of the department having its cohort of representatives, maybe even parents or some other form of consumer representative, if I can put it so poorly, having their representatives, but I think that merely leaving it up to the minister's discretion is a poor outcome. I should say at this point that I have a little bit more faith in the member for Morialta, the Minister for Education, making a judicious choice about whom he might place on that board than I do, for example, in the Minister for Innovation and Skills—

Dr Close: Who was their shadow education minister.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: —who was for a period the shadow education minister, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition points out to me. In my view, he has so sullied and besmirched the Construction Industry Training Board, first in an attempt to significantly reduce the representation of professionals and workers in that industry and then also as he sought to impose an increased number of ministerial representatives on that board. You only had to listen to question time and the grievance debate afterwards to see how that is travelling. I genuinely hope, if this bill passes without amendment to the composition of its membership, that the current Minister for Education, the member for Morialta, picks his nominees very wisely.

As many of you know, I have known John for a long period of time, that is, I have known the member for Morialta—I will slap myself on the wrist, sir, for making that infraction of the standing orders before obliging you to do the same—for many years, and that is why I say I have some confidence that he might exercise that judiciously. The member for Morialta may or may not do that, but he certainly will not be the Minister for Education forever. There will be other ministers for education. Like all things when we legislate, we are setting a regime that is designed to last not just for the current circumstance but in perpetuity.

What I do not want to see is a regime that is changed to allow greater ministerial discretion that is abused in the future. The way in which we have ensured that there are professional standards regimes—whether it is for doctors, for lawyers, for accountants and for other professional practitioners, now including teachers—is that we have always sought to make sure that there is a reasonable proportion of the professions being regulated on that board. Could you imagine an architecture board with only a tiny proportion of architects on it? That is effectively where we may end up if this bill passes without amendment to its membership.

I do not think the member for Morialta is like his colleague to whom I made reference before, the Minister for Innovation, who clearly has a significant problem with the union movement—not in terms of the benefits of the union movement, I am talking about—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Lee, I have listened carefully to your contribution and enjoyed it immensely. It has been well considered, but you are now, as you well know, straying away from the bill at hand.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Thank you for your correction. In my comments about the bill and the proposed changes to the composition of the Teachers Registration Board, I was trying to get to the point that I hope that the reduction in the number of teachers on it was not another expression of anti-union sentiment from the government, seeking to reduce, in this instance, the role and the representation of the Australian Education Union, in the same way that we have had the construction unions reduced on the Construction Industry Training Board. Whether one likes the AEU or not, they are the industry representative and the employee representative of teachers in this state, and that is important.

It is important to have collective representation of professions, whether they are, for example, unionists representing a profession—according to the former premier of Queensland, apparently you even need to have industrial representation of banks. This surprises me but less so since we have had the banking royal commission and since the travesty that the banking industry visited upon millions of Australians over the last 30 years came to light. However, we do not have that problem here with teachers, because they visit a wonderful education upon students; they do a terrific job. I respect the need to have a professional standards regime and a registration board to superintend that, but we should not be doing it without the benefit of having teachers on the board. Thank you for your indulgence, Deputy Speaker.

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (16:59): I also take this opportunity to speak on the Teachers Registration and Standards (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill and the importance of teachers and the standards that are required. The education of preschool students, but more importantly primary school and secondary school students, is really important not only to our society but also to the students themselves. Knowledge is power, and we need to make sure that they are taught key parts of information and have the ability to continue their learning journey once they leave school.

In terms of real role models, I have heard members speak about these young minds and how important parents are to young children. As they start going to school, teachers become role models for those students, and it is then important and beholden on government to give oversight of the standards of those teachers who take on that role and to make sure they are qualified. The amount of time that teachers have to spend in tertiary learning has increased, from three years up to four years.

Obviously, there are more demands on teachers to make sure they are appropriately qualified and competent to teach, so not only learning but being able to impart that wisdom to students, using various pedagogies or methods of teaching as per the National Curriculum and ensuring a student educated here in South Australia is just as well educated as any other student in Australia. Finally, teachers must be fit and proper people to teach our children. Parents trust that the schools they send their children to will have fit and proper people teaching their children.

In terms of the bill itself, it has been quite a while since it was introduced. Many changes have come along, including the introduction of a national framework for teacher registration and also Australian professional standards for teachers. In addition, we have had the Child Protection Systems Royal Commission in South Australia and also the national royal commission into child sexual abuse. This prompted really significant reform in terms of child protection here in South Australia, which has included substantial changes to the screening and oversight of registered teachers.

This amending bill certainly builds upon other legislation I have spoken on in parliament before in which the safety of children is paramount. In clause 6, new section 7 provides:

The welfare and best interests of children is the paramount consideration in relation to the operation, administration and enforcement of this Act.

That certainly gives clarification and would give comfort to parents that it is front of mind as we go about teaching students here in South Australia.

In addition, the bill provides a number of new functions to the teachers board. It codifies and strengthens some existing activities that the board undertakes. This includes the functions of the board to accredit the initial teacher education programs, to undertake and support reviews of research and data collection, to develop and maintain a code of conduct for registered teachers and to recognise quality teaching and leadership in the teaching profession.

Touching on that point, certainly in the electorate of Morphett I am lucky to have many schools, and I have had the opportunity to meet them all. They all display quality teaching and leadership, from the principal and the teachers. I have had the opportunity to go to graduations and also to be taken through presentations by the student board. Also, we are lucky here, as one of the fantastic elements of being an elected member of parliament is the ability to take students from your local schools for a tour of Parliament House.

We can explain to them the importance of democracy and of transparent governments and the part they can play. We can make them understand that the democracy and freedoms they get to enjoy have been hard-fought for and the reasons why parliament and the government institutions that come out of that are so important to continue. We can explain how they can actually be involved from a young age until, of course, they become 18 and can vote.

I want to talk also about the coronavirus pandemic and the challenges that has caused. Certainly, one of the professions in which it has been most keenly felt here in South Australia has been teaching, in terms of the spread of the coronavirus throughout the community and the fear that has brought, especially in the initial stages and seeing it happening around the world and then landing on our shores and making its way into South Australia and the fear of what that could mean for schools.

In my electorate, Sacred Heart College is one of the very important schools that many children attend. Unfortunately, it was the first school where the effects of coronavirus hit home. One of the parents while travelling interstate contracted the coronavirus. Thankfully, they have recovered, but at that stage the children who had been around the parent went to Sacred Heart College. That meant that the senior campus had to close down for 24 hours to conduct cleaning and tracing of students who had come into contact with them as a precautionary measure and then for them to self-isolate.

I must say that it is always hard having to be the first of anything. The way that Sacred Heart College went about it is to be commended. I touched base with the acting principal at the time, Shana Bennett, and she explained in a calm and methodical manner what she was doing and her attempts to reassure and communicate with the parents. That has certainly has been very important. At all my schools, the communication by principals to the teachers and also to the parents has been really important in explaining things and keeping people calm in the face of this.

I should also mention that the principal of Sacred Heart College, Steve Byrne, was actually on leave at the time and had to cut his leave short to come back to the school because he recognised the importance of him being there. I commend him for putting his students and his teachers first. I really think the way the school got through that, and they have been able to continue on, has been good. This occurred in the middle of March, and school holidays had not arrived yet; they did not start until April.

A lot of parents sought to homeschool their children. The experience really struck home to many parents the importance and skill of teachers. Even parents of primary school children remarked to me that they thought they understood, for example, year 6 maths, and then once their year 6 child came home they realised that maybe their grasp of the maths was not what they remembered. It emphasises the skills that modern-day teachers have.

I must add that the element of homeschooling put additional workload upon the teachers. My wife teaches at St Mary's Memorial School in Glenelg. From her experiences, I can certainly see the organisation that was required, where teachers not only have to deliver a curriculum in person to students but they also have to be very mindful that those students who are at home have to be supported as well.

Effectively, teachers had to very rapidly upskill in terms of online delivery of course content. Not only that, the diligent parents who were staying home with their children had to get back in touch with the teachers and ask questions to clarify particular bodies of work: 'How do you go about this? My child has asked this question; is that true?' That is okay if it is one student asking the question, but of course the more students at home, the more queries coming in, so the teachers' workload increased substantially with a lot of hours spent at home. I see the work teachers do after hours just from an administration point of view. Many people think that teachers start at 9 o'clock and finish at 3.30. To be fair, that is a misguided opinion because teachers do quite a lot of work before and after hours.

Getting back to the coronavirus pandemic, I really commend the response that schools undertook. The state government recognised there was uncertainty leading into term 2. We set up and launched the Our Learning SA website to give South Australian students access to a modern, online learning resource to support their education at home. In addition, in the week before the school holidays schools had pupil-free days to allow teachers to plan resources for term 2, if the health pandemic crisis did not allow students to come back to school.

Thankfully, the chief medical officer, Professor Nicola Spurrier, and her team have really worked diligently to map a path for South Australians. Thankfully, South Australians have taken up social distancing and all the restrictions that have come with that. This has allowed schools to return in term 2 and, thankfully, we have had no student-to-student transmissions of the coronavirus. We have had no student-to-teacher transmissions and only one teacher-to-student transmission.

Yes, there is concern, and we really have to be careful of teachers and family members with immunodeficient systems, who are therefore vulnerable, by making sure we look after them but, in terms of the bulk of the student population, we have been able to get students back to work at their schools. The Minister for Education updated us on how attendances have increased. I think at the last update only 3 per cent of students were absent because of sickness. Because everyone is looking after their health, washing their hands and covering their mouths, we have had a reduction in student absences.

I commend teachers because they were at the front line. It was a nervous time for them, and they have come through it and put their students first, and they have really taken the time and given them care and continuity. For five-year-old children, this is really concerning and uncertain for them, and having that continuity of their teacher being there has been very important, so I certainly commend all the teachers in my electorate, and I will touch on the schools at which they teach.

Kilparrin school is for students with sensory impairments, both vision and hearing. They are vulnerable children and so the teachers there are very caring. Understandably, they have small class sizes, but they really support their students in their learning endeavours. Their next-door neighbours, SASVI, also for vision-impaired students, is a very important school in my electorate, and it takes in students from all over metropolitan Adelaide and provides a fantastic service. Alongside that, Ascot Park Primary School also provides a good primary school environment for students in the Park Holme area.

Moving along to Plympton, we have Plympton International College, which is an international school with students ranging from reception right through to year 12. It is a bilingual school, so it really encourages students to learn Chinese, which is a really important skill in terms of where we sit as a nation with trade and regional affairs. It is a very important school for the state. It takes in students from not only Plympton but also the surrounding areas. Next door is the Errington Special Education School, which looks after children with special needs. When I am lucky enough to go along to their graduation ceremonies, the passion of their students, the principal, Niki Takos, and the teachers, as well as the care they show their students, is exemplary.

At Immanuel school, both the primary and high school, I get a lot out of those students in terms of their joy of knowledge when I take them on tours here of Parliament House. The primary school students especially have their assemblies, and they are always very thoughtful in terms of their thought for not just their local community but where they fit in a global society. That is very important to them and I think their teachers do a wonderful job.

St John the Baptist is a small little Catholic school on Anzac Highway. While it is quite small, it has a very caring environment and is a growing school. Not far away is Our Lady of Grace in Glengowrie, which again is a small Catholic school. Both schools are transitioning to include year 6. They were reception to year 5 and they are now growing to include year 6 as well, so they are growing schools that are very valuable in their community. I have mentioned St Mary's Memorial School in Glenelg, which is another small little Catholic parish school. Just last year, they increased to year 6 and they are very important to our local community.

These are supplemented by two other fantastic primary schools in Glenelg: St Peter's Woodlands, which is another primary school that goes from reception to year 7; and Glenelg Primary School, which is a well-attended school. In fact, it is bursting at the seams. Their new principal, Anthony Fischer, has taken over this year and he is doing a fantastic job keeping in touch with his local community.

I mentioned Glenelg Primary School as a fantastic school. I was lucky to attend back in December 2018 with the education minister and the Premier to announce fibre internet to nearly every single one of our schools in South Australia. That really takes our school environment from one of the lowest speed internet education systems to the leader in the nation. Where that has paid dividends has really been where we have had this coronavirus and having to shift to more delivery of the curriculum online.

The fast internet will allow for enriching multimedia information to be taken in by students not only in terms of their learning but also in terms of communicating what they have learnt in relation to their projects. I will finish by again thanking all schoolteachers in Morphett for the terrific work they do, and I commend the bill to the house.

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (17:19): I would like to add my voice to the bill that we have before us, the Teacher Registration and Standards (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2020, as it was introduced to the house by the Minister for Education. While I will have a number of questions during the committee stage, there are a number of points that I would like to briefly make that are of concern to me.

I think it is important that when we have teachers who are doing such a fantastic job in our community—and everyone over there talks about the great job that they are doing throughout the school year, but particularly during the COVID-19 measures that have been put in place. Teachers are working very hard. They took online learning to heart. They put in so many additional hours, as they always do—and having been a teacher, I can vouch for that; many of my friends are still in the profession.

I have many concerns about the bill before us, but one that stands out is the reduction in the number of teachers on the Teachers Registration Board. This is a professional standards board that governs the profession, and it is of great concern that many of the people on the board will not have been practising teachers.

I do not understand why the teachers appointed to the board would be ministerial appointments and we would not allow bodies of the teaching profession (such as the Australian Education Union and relevant universities) to appoint them. I do not understand why those opposite think that is the right thing to do. I do not know of any other professional governing bodies that would have so few practising members on their boards. That is of concern. I have a number of questions to ask at the committee stage but I just wanted to put that on the record.

I also wish to discuss the issues surrounding the consultation that occurred. Consultation is not just about asking somebody to put forward their views and disregarding many or all of them. I know that the universities and the Australian Education Union would have had significant input, and that has not been addressed in the bill before us. With that, I would also like to thank our teachers. I know a lot of them are watching this and are concerned about what is happening and the impact it may have in the long term.

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (17:22): I also rise to say some brief words on the Teachers Registration and Standards (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill. Teachers are an important part of our lives. They are very big shapers of the way we turn out as human beings as we go through our formative years.

I have very fond memories of my time at school. I went to three different schools. I started at Port Elliot Primary School, where I spent my first three or so years, before we moved farms and moved to Mount Compass. I attended the Mount Compass Area School and spent some time there until I was sent away to boarding school in Adelaide and attended St Peter's College. I very fondly remember all my teachers through that time. My first teacher, Irene Smallacombe, was the mother of my dad's best friend and lived next door to my grandfather. Up until the day she died, I was her favourite student because I was her last student. I was one of two reception students in her last year and she was very fond of having me in her class. I remember her very fondly.

Interestingly, of the seven schools in my electorate, my wife, children and I have attended six of them between us. It is quite amazing that a family could have been to all but one of the schools in an electorate. I am very proud of the schools in the electorate and how they have conducted themselves through the difficult times we have faced over the past few months.

The teachers certainly put a lot of effort in, particularly over the couple of weeks before the school holidays and during the school holidays, to put together a program for remote learning. Thankfully, circumstances in South Australia have been such that it has not really needed to be rolled out to the extent that was envisaged, so we are seeing the students very much return to schools and be back in that environment.

The schools in the electorate are quite varied. Port Elliot Primary School, where I first started, was a very small school when I was there. There were only three teachers at the school when I was there, and it was a very tight-knit and rural community at that stage. Everyone was very close to those teachers. Besides Mrs Smallacombe, the other two teachers there were a husband and wife, Mr and Mrs Abbott. I would describe Mr Abbott as a very traditional headmaster. He used to whack the cane on the desk in front of the students to scare the bejesus out of them. He was very traditional in that regard and certainly ran a very tight school.

It is also interesting that Port Elliot Primary School was recognised as one of the most deprived schools in the state back in the early 1970s. It only had a black-and-white TV and about 20 books in its library, so it was a very small school in that regard as well. That has changed enormously in the latter years. It moved to a new campus about 10 or 11 years ago, and we have seen that school go from strength to strength. Hundreds of students are now there to the point that it is overflowing and needing to expand to keep up with the capacity that wants to go to that school. The teaching staff are very respected.

Mount Compass Area School is another fantastic school. I am pleased to see that some money was approved for spending through the Public Works Committee only last sitting week. That is very much needed. I have walked through the school recently, and many of the buildings look like they have not been painted since I left 30-odd years ago. It is very much looking tired as a school and certainly needs some money spent on it to bring it up to what is considered an acceptable standard.

They do have a fantastic agriculture section and staff who are tied up with that. There is effectively a farmlet that runs alongside the school, which the school owns and runs. The school runs about 30 cattle on that property. That requires staff to work 52 weeks of the year, seven days a week to make sure that farm is running as appropriate, just like any other farmer. It is really pleasing to see that a learning facility as good as that is available for that agricultural community.

Goolwa Primary School is the one school that none of my family have attended. It is a lovely school and has been for many years. It is certainly one of the proudest schools. When I attend their speech nights, etc., to watch their year 7s graduate, it is fantastic to see how proud they are of their school and their teachers.

Moving across to Victor Harbor, there are four schools: two independent schools and two public schools. There is the R-7 school my wife attended. She attended both campuses; the school was moved while she was there. It used to be where the current Woolworths complex is. There used to be a swimming pool immediately behind where Target is, and the school itself was beyond that, where Woolworths and Big W are now. The school was moved across to the banks of the Hindmarsh River, and it has also prospered over time as a primary school. My wife also attended the high school at Victor Harbor and so did my father for a short period of time. It is another great school in the electorate, so it is fantastic to actually see that.

Then we have the two independent schools, Encounter Lutheran College and Investigator College. Both are fantastic schools and both are heavily investing in their infrastructure and their staff to give an independent option to parents in the community. Parents have really embraced that independent option in the community and we have seen significant growth in both of those schools over the last 10 years. I think that will continue as they mature and age and get some history. I think a school like that very much develops when the children of the children start attending those schools and really develop that strong community following that.

It all comes from the key people in the schools who actually help—and that is the teachers. I would very much like to thank those teachers for the wonderful work they have done over the last few months, certainly in very difficult circumstances. The reason they do it is not the money but the satisfaction of seeing those students turn into wonderful human beings. I commend this bill to the house and would like to see it progress.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. V.A. Chapman.

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