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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-10-29 Daily Xml
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Motions

World Teachers' Day

Ms THOMPSON (Davenport) (10:57): I move:

That this house—

(a) acknowledges the importance of World Teachers' Day on 25 October and the crucial role South Australian teachers play in educating future generations;

(b) recognises the Malinauskas Labor government has invested record funding to support our teachers, including through the enterprise agreement that delivers higher pay, more support for early-career teachers and gives teachers more time to prepare classes;

(c) celebrates that the Malinauskas Labor government has delivered on its election commitment to make the Country Incentive Zone Allowance ongoing, including bringing it back for teachers who previously lost it; and

(d) notes the Malinauskas Labor government will always back our teachers.

World Teachers' Day is one of those moments in the year when we pause not just to say thank you but to truly reflect on what our teachers mean to us, to our families and to our communities, because behind every confident young person, ready to take on the world, there is a teacher or, more often, a whole team of teachers who help them find their voice, discover their talents and believe in themselves. Every one of us in this chamber can probably name a teacher who made that difference in our own lives: the one who stayed back after class to help us when we were struggling, the one who saw potential when we did not see it in ourselves, and the one who sparked a lifelong love of learning, of science, of music and of art.

Here in South Australia, our teachers have faced enormous challenges in recent years, yet they continue to step up with professionalism, dedication and compassion. That is why the Malinauskas Labor government has worked hard to back them with the support that they deserve. Our government has delivered the largest enterprise agreement in South Australian history. It means higher pay for our teachers, more support for early-career teachers who are just finding their feet and, importantly, more time to prepare the lessons and classes that set up our young people for success, because we know that investing in teachers is investing in students.

We have also kept our word to teachers working in regional and remote areas, making the Country Incentive Zone Allowance ongoing and restoring it for teachers who had unfairly lost it. That allowance might sound like a simple policy line, but for teachers working hundreds of kilometres away from their families, often in communities with housing challenges and higher costs of living, it means a great deal. It helps us to keep great teachers where they are most needed: in our country schools.

But beyond policy and pay, today is about people. It is about celebrating the teachers who make our communities stronger every single day. In my electorate of Davenport, I see their impact firsthand in teachers like Emma Harrison and Melinda James from the School of the Nativity in Aberfoyle Park. Earlier this year, Emma was recognised as a highly accomplished teacher by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, one of just 40 Catholic Education SA teachers to receive national certification this year. Emma joins Nativity's Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching, Melinda, who holds lead teacher certification, a testament to her years of excellence and leadership in education.

Recognition like this does not come easily. It reflects hundreds of hours of work, mentoring and professional learning, and a genuine love of helping students to grow. Principal Erika Dixon tells me she could not be prouder to have Emma and Melinda on her team, and I think their students are very lucky to have them, too.

But, of course, they are just two examples among thousands across my electorate. I have met extraordinary educators in every school who go above and beyond to make every child feel seen and supported. I have seen teachers give up their weekends to coach school sports days, to run robotics clubs, supervise excursions and camps, or simply make sure that a child has breakfast before class. These quiet, unseen acts of care are what hold our communities together.

While we celebrate World Teachers' Day, we must also recognise the pressures that they face. Teaching has become more complex, balancing diverse needs, administrative demands and the increasing expectations of parents and society. That is why our government will keep working to reduce red tape, strengthen wellbeing support and make teaching a profession that attracts and retains the very best people. The future of South Australia depends on it.

When we talk about building a strong economy, a healthy democracy and a fair society, it all starts in the classroom. It starts with the teacher who helped a child to learn to read, to ask questions, to think critically, to care about others. This week, on World Teachers' Day, I want every teacher in South Australia to hear this loud and clear: we value you, we respect you, we are grateful for you, and as a government and as a parliament, we will always back you. To the teachers who have shaped my community and who continue to shape our future, thank you. I commend the motion to the house.

Mr TELFER (Flinders) (11:02): I rise on this motion and in doing so move to amend the motion by the member for Davenport as follows:

Amend paragraph (a) to delete '25 October' and replace with '31 October 2025';

Delete paragraph (b) and replace with:

(b) recognises the dedication and professionalism of teachers across South Australia and notes the importance of continued investment and practical support to help them manage increasing workloads and deliver the best outcomes for students;

Delete paragraph (c) and replace with:

(c) acknowledges the valuable contribution of teachers working in regional and remote communities and the importance of providing fair incentives and ongoing support to attract and retain staff in these areas; and

Delete paragraph (d) and replace with:

(d) expresses its appreciation for all teachers and school leaders across South Australia for their commitment to students, families and the wider community.

This is an important opportunity for us in this place to take the time to stop and recognise the incredible efforts that are put in by teachers all around our state, but I especially want to highlight the extra challenge, obligation and workload that is faced by teachers in regional and remote South Australia. There is a line in my amended motion that especially expresses the gratitude of this place to those teachers and recognises that it is indeed a different task to teach in regional and remote South Australia.

As I often say, my electorate is a large one. It has 29 different schools all the way from Port Lincoln up to Cowell and all the way west. There is some incredible work done out in some of the Aboriginal communities in my electorate by teachers who are dedicated to the future of the students they are in charge of and help develop. I endeavour to regularly meet with those 29 schools around my electorate. I have a bit of a list in my mind and on my desk in my Port Lincoln office to make sure I try to work my way through to meet with those principals and those teachers who are doing the incredible work across regional South Australia.

It is a challenge when you are dealing with relatively smaller numbers in classrooms compared to some of the city cousins, but that means that the classes themselves are much more diverse. You have young students who are just learning different aspects of the class all the way up to students who have gone through it already and are learning more and more. The range that some of our country teachers have to teach is pretty significant.

I always love to visit the schools in my electorate. The 29 schools are all different, but can I highlight that just because you go to school in a regional area does not mean that your aspirations are limited at all. The work that is done within our regional schools, and particularly in my electorate, is incredible. I consistently see the schools from my electorate at the top of achievement when it comes to some of the measures that are used for academic output and for attendance. I want to talk through a few of the schools that I have recently met with and spoken to that are really punching above their weight when it comes to the output of the students in their schools.

I want to especially highlight the work of the Kimba Area School. I congratulate and thank the team who put so much work into that school: the principal, Tash Rayson, and the teachers at Kimba Area School. They were right up the top in not only the recent measures about attendance at school but also the academic output of the school. They are consistently near the top of the pile when it comes to school output.

When you compare Kimba Area School to specialist schools like Glenunga International High School, to have this school competing so well is really special for my community. It really does highlight the extra effort, the time, the thought and the care that teachers put in to our regional schools. To have Kimba Area School near the top of the results for some of those academic measures is a really special thing, so congratulations to Tash. We see the work that you do and we know the challenge of it.

In the last 18 months, I think it was, I welcomed the education minister on a visit to Kimba Area School and we had a walk around. We saw the challenges that are faced when it comes to infrastructure and the areas that need further investment, but to see the interactions with the kids on the day was a really special thing.

Another school that I am always amazed at the output of is the Karcultaby Area School. Karcultaby is one of the unique schools in my area, because it was one that was made up of the amalgam of several schools, and it is basically its own little community. Karcultaby was strategically placed 30-odd years ago in the middle of a number of different communities. If you are going up the Eyre Highway and you do not know it is there, you could blink and you could miss it. Once again, the Karcultaby school is one of those schools that is always at the top end of the academic output.

For a school that services the townships of Minnipa, Poochera and the surrounds, to have that sort of high-level output is really special. I congratulate the team there: I know the principal, Neil Seaman, has put an incredible amount of work in, as have the principals who have gone before; the teachers who are there; and the SSOs. I always love to visit and drop in on a school like Karcultaby, because it is one of those unique schools. Like I said, it is the only facility in that area. There are no houses nearby. There is nothing else except this school, which is the central part of the community. Whenever I visit, whether it is a school graduation or whether it is a drop-in to meet with the principal, the teachers and the students, they are always so welcoming and so warm and always provide me with the opportunity to understand the challenges and nuances but also the opportunities of schooling in an area like that.

Another one which is very similar is the Miltaburra Area School. Once again, it is the amalgamation of a number of different schools. It is placed basically in a paddock: a school built in the middle of a paddock in the middle of a bunch of different communities but also in the middle of nowhere. But people come from all over to have their kids go to these schools. That school has such a great community spirit about it. It is always one which is so welcoming and it is built on generations of community input and cooperation. I give a shout-out to the principal, Karen Stokes, and the incredible culture that is built within that school. When you are isolated in regional and remote communities and the school becomes such a central part of community, it is all hands on deck.

I look forward to trying to get to as many of the 29 schools' graduations as I can over the next month or so—the end-of-year school concerts and the recognitions of kids moving on to the next year level. I do not get to all of the 29 schools, sadly, because they all seem to have their end of year in that two-week window.

In the life of the member for Flinders, in the likes of last year, in one day I started off down in the south of the electorate and drove 120 kilometres up to the Cleve Area School to get there for the 9.30 school end of year, then I drove two hundred and something kilometres back down to Port Lincoln for the next school which was at 11.30, and then I drove the 250 kilometres back north again to get to the Wudinna Area School. That night, I drove my 200 kilometres home and covered 800 kilometres in the day going to three different school graduations—then rinse and repeat the next day.

It is special, because as local members of parliament we have that really intimate connection to those teachers and those principals who are doing that amazing work in our community. It is one of the real privileges as local members of parliament to provide support, leadership, guidance and that moral encouragement to principals and teachers who are doing amazing work.

As part of supporting my amended motion, I really want to recognise that on World Teachers' Day we take the time to stop to thank teachers and recognise the incredible workload which is on their shoulders—especially within regional and remote communities—and the tremendous outputs that are borne by the efforts that are put in for that next generation.

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (11:12): I rise today in support of this motion to recognise and celebrate World Teachers' Day and thank my very good friend the member for Davenport for bringing this motion to the house. World Teachers' Day is a fantastic opportunity for us to recognise and celebrate the crucial role that teachers play in our community.

One of my favourite traditions since being elected is to celebrate World Teachers' Day by dropping off delicious cakes from the bakery The Cake Hut in Melrose Park on South Road, just opposite Castle Plaza if anyone needs to know. I feel like Father Christmas: I fill up the boot with cakes and then go and spend the morning delivering them off to schools. It is really lovely getting to connect with school staff and being able to celebrate them and tell them how valued they are.

This week I am hosting Angus, a year 10 student from Unley High School who I recognise is in the gallery, who wrote the following to share his experience with teachers at Westbourne Park Primary School and Unley High School. In Angus's words:

Schooling isn't just a process that children must go through in order for them to enter the workforce and develop into independent adults, it's the period in which students develop their interests, passions, and overall identity.

Teachers are what form the crucial backbone in this stage of both childhood and adulthood development and often don't receive the amount of acknowledgement or even treatment they deserve.

Students don't normally make this realisation until they are well out of school, and their opportunity to say thank you to those teachers who only want the best out of them, has passed.

Throughout my journey in primary and high school, I have had various teachers that I like more than others, but regardless of personal opinions, every single one has made me strive for my best.

It didn't matter whether it was subjects I was interested in, or subjects that I only took because they were compulsory, my teachers always brought the best out of my skills, which is crucial in every single workplace.

This aspect of the education system is often left in the dark, whether teachers don't seek recognition or appreciation.

Instead, what drives their continual effort is their passion and trust in young people, alongside their optimism on a prosperous future for South Australia, Australia and the world.

I am lucky to have [had] this realisation while still in school, and instead of pushing away my teachers, I can seek advice and feedback from them with the knowledge they do what they do to see all students prosper.

Teachers also prove as necessary role models for all children, and don't just develop student knowledge, but student behaviour. During my primary school education in particular, all of my teachers embodied significant values such as respect, integrity, [honesty] and diversity.

In leading by example, these teachers have set the standard for me to develop these values as I look forward to university and beyond. I will be forever grateful for the pivotal role that teachers have played throughout my education, and hope that all students across our state and country will be as well.

So, for this World Teachers' Day, let's open closed doors, and give thanks, recognition and gratitude to all teachers for much of the work that they do for students in the dark.

A big thankyou to Angus for your thoughtful, insightful message on World Teachers' Day. Special shout-out to all my wonderful teachers at Paringa Park Primary School and Brighton Secondary School; my favourite teacher of all, my brother Ryan, who is a teacher at Unley High School; and my second favourite teacher, the member for Black.

In closing, I join Angus in thanking each and every single teacher in South Australia, particularly those at our schools in Elder, for their work in shaping the next generation. I commend the motion.

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (11:16): It is fantastic to have the opportunity to reflect on the amazing work of teachers right across South Australia and to particularly highlight all the amazing teachers in our own local communities. I would like to acknowledge the amendments put forward by the member for Flinders and indicate that that is the motion I am speaking to.

This Friday is World Teachers' Day and it really is a fantastic opportunity to go around to all our schools and say a big personal thankyou to all of our fantastic teachers. Similar to what members in this place do, I make an effort and make it my business to visit as many schools as I can. I am fortunate enough to have 24 schools in the electorate of Schubert, including four high schools and 20 primary schools, so my team and I divide and conquer and head out with Sunrise Bakery goodies. This year we have some honey biscuits that have been made by James and Angie Nagel from Sunrise Bakery in Angaston, and we also give some apples because I feel that an apple is symbolic, if you like, of the work that a teacher does in some ways.

We pack up our cars and we head across the electorate, and it is a nice opportunity, I think, to connect to the principals, teachers, SSOs and everyone involved in educating the next generation to thank them for the work that they do. I went to a few last week—noting of course that this week was parliament—and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to have some general conversations with all the teachers from many schools, including Gumeracha that I can think of off the top of my head, and to hear about all the priorities they have for the year ahead and the graduations they have coming up. I really enjoy speaking to as many teachers and principals as I can.

I think it is important that we recognise World Teachers' Day not only for the dedication that the teachers themselves show but for the work that they do in helping to educate and support the next generation of students in our local communities. Many of them were having big morning teas to come together and celebrate, and I know that they will be reflecting on all the incredible work that they have been doing, their journey of becoming a teacher and all the important lessons that they themselves have learned along the way.

As we are celebrating World Teachers' Day, not only have we been able to see on display the incredible passion that our teachers have but I have been fortunate to have two high school graduations in my community already. The first was at Faith Lutheran College, where we came together to celebrate all the amazing year 12s. When you hear such passion that the teachers have for each individual student, I think it really underscores the personal pride that they have and the responsibility that they themselves have in trying to shape each student as they are learning more about the things that they enjoy in life and the careers that they want to pursue. It was really wonderful to see that on display at Faith Lutheran College.

As part of their graduation process, I sponsor an award called the Schubert Quiet Achiever Award. At Faith Lutheran College, there were actually two recipients: Thomas Ashmore and Jenna Habermann, so I would like to give them a big shout-out. They are fantastic students in their own right. The teachers who chose them really did speak very highly about the work that they put in. One of the key areas of the Schubert Quiet Achiever Award really is about selecting a student who just goes above and beyond, and really focuses on being the best person that they can be, that they are reliable and they have a really strong sense of service and respect for their peers. So I give a big-shout out to Thomas Ashmore and Jenna Habermann. I am looking forward to seeing the pathways that they take.

Secondly, Nuri High School is my old high school—in Nuriootpa, obviously. I graduated from there in 2008. Every time I go back to that graduation I am hit with a sense of nostalgia. The school has grown more and more. In fact, when I graduated in 2008, we were small enough to have it in the big gymnasium at Nuri, but not so anymore. In fact, there were 222 year 12s who graduated from Nuri High this year. All the students, all the parents, all the carers and all those supporting the year 12 students were jam-packed into the big Tanunda Show Hall—it was absolutely jam-packed.

One reason I particularly love going to the Nuri High graduation is that each of the home group teachers bring out every individual student on stage, and they talk a little bit about the type of person that they are and what they are hoping to achieve into the future. I find it really amazing that the teachers have such personal connections with every student, some of whom they have been teaching all the way since year 7. So that was a really wonderful reflection.

At Nuri High School, I also sponsor the Schubert Quiet Achiever Award, and this year that went to Jaimee Hudson. So I give a big shout-out to Jaimee. Well done on your award. It was really fantastic to be up on stage and formally congratulate you with this award. I also sponsor at Nuri High School the Ashton Hurn Public Speaking Award, and this year it went to the SRC Vice President Makayla Litchfield, and Makayla is an absolute star. I have hosted her here in parliament previously. I host all the school leaders in parliament over the course of the year just to hear a little bit about the things that they are passionate about in our local community, the things that they would like to see in our region and also just to learn a little bit more about what they are going to do with the rest of their lives. Makayla, in particular, was fantastic, so I congratulate her on receiving the public speaking award. Well done to you, Makayla.

Similar to other members, it is a jam-packed run to the end of the year with graduations of primary schools and things like that. I try my best to be in two places at once but I have not quite mastered that yet. I do not think I will be able to get to all 24 graduations. I wish all students, and particularly all teachers, all the best for the remainder of the year. I thank you for all the work you do, the passion that you show and the support that you provide when it comes to educating the next generation. So happy World Teachers' Day to each and every teacher in my local community and thank you for all your work.

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (11:23): I rise to add my voice to the motion on World Teachers' Day, moved by the member for Davenport, and I do so in this place as the member for Torrens and also as a former teacher. I want to acknowledge the incredible and important role of our teachers, and the leadership teams in our schools, in delivering the next generation of South Australians.

I want to place on record my thanks both to the leadership teams who would have started off as teachers (and I think that is definitely the way to go in our schools) and to the teachers across all our schools—our state, Independent and Catholic schools in Torrens, including Hillcrest Primary School; Klemzig Primary School; Hampstead Primary School; Vale Park Primary School; Wandana Primary School; Avenues College, where just this week, with the minister, we opened up their new and refurbished classrooms and study areas; Kildare College; St Paul's College; St Pius X School; St Martin's Catholic Primary School; Pinnacle College; and Heritage College.

We know that teachers do not finish at the end of the day when the bell or the siren goes. They take home with them the work to support their students. Very often a teacher goes home and they may have one or two students in particular they have concerns about. This is something that they take on, look into and do what they can to find additional support, which is so important.

Our government has done a marvellous job, particularly in relation to addressing autism in our schools and in relation to the training of teachers in autism so that they can actually provide additional information to all of the teachers in that school. I know that my schools in Torrens have been very thankful for that.

Teachers play a significant role in everyone's life here. Most people here could think back and there will be one, two or maybe three teachers that stand out. There were some teachers that stood out and really did make a difference in my education and one of those was a first-year teacher, John Pederick, and Ms Klein, my high school English teacher.

I went to Enfield High School, which amalgamated and became Roma Mitchell Secondary College, which is not in my electorate but it borders it, and many of the students from the seat of Torrens attend that school. Over the next few weeks I will be attending many graduations and, like the member for Schubert, presenting awards to students who have excelled. Very often the awards that are presented are school spirit awards, which recognise the spirit of the school, so they do not necessarily have to be academic or sporting awards.

Just to finish, teachers play such a significant role and for those of us who are parents, we know each day when we drop our child off at school or when they arrive at school that they are in the hands of those teachers and we trust them to deliver the best education possible. I want to thank all of the teachers from my son's schooling years and all of the teachers today who go above and beyond and wish all of them a very happy World Teachers' Day.

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (11:27): I am so proud to rise to support the motion in its amended form by the member for Flinders, who rightly draws attention, in particular, to the wonderful dedication that is deployed day by day, term by term, year by year by those teachers in our regional areas.

While the hills in Heysen are not quite so far from the centre of town as perhaps parts of Flinders, it is worth my really highlighting that particular aspect because in the hills of Heysen there are more than 20 primary schools, many of which are very small public primary schools. They are two and three-teacher primary schools, very much dependent upon not only the dedication to the work in the classroom but the dedication to leadership in terms of the school, the community and all of the fabric of what goes on from start to finish in any given year.

There could not be a better and more timely stand-out example of exactly that than the recent celebration at Kangarilla of Kangarilla Primary School's 150thanniversary. That was a many days' celebration as it turned out. It provided an opportunity on the Friday of the school week, in the presence of all of the current students—and many of the current parents and carers—to celebrate a whole lot of old scholars who had come back to the school and could share time together and some formal recognition of the support that is provided by the state to public schools being up and running. The executive director from Education was there on the Friday, and it is well that we recognise that our public schools are underpinned by the resources of the state. It was good to have some words of congratulation from the minister, and I recognise that.

But what it really provided an opportunity for was to celebrate a shining example of just what this motion is all about, and that is the dedication of Principal Donna Lean to Kangarilla Primary School, and to the town and to the community. Now, as a teacher and principal at Kangarilla Primary School for many years, Donna has at times ensured that the school's very existence remains viable.

That means doing everything from being present and driving the breakfast club so that the children whose parents need to leave at the crack of dawn in order to get to where they need to go through the day, can drop off students first thing. They are then able to have breakfast at school, get together, start the day and then carry on through, through to the homework club in the afternoon and the late collections and whatever is required. Donna has been heart and soul for Kangarilla and everybody who is even remotely within the orbit of the town, let alone the school, knows that loud and clear. I will be in trouble for having really shone the light on it, but she deserves it.

Now, Kangarilla is a town that—whether it is in war memorials, town achievements or in the list of old scholars in the school—still has all of those core old names in town. And there again, as was clear in the sun on the Saturday and later at the dinner on the Saturday night: the Thorpes, the Smarts, the Prices, I could go on.

On Saturday, alongside Principal Donna Lean, just one of the many contributions that was made by old scholars coming back came from Dr Jamie Smart. Dr Smart, of very modest and humble bearing, a tall man—I had the opportunity to meet him—part of the famous Smart family, is the Deputy Director of Surgical Services at the Albert in Melbourne. He is an accomplished senior anaesthetist and leads research and a surgical team at the highest level in Melbourne. He was not going to set that out chapter and verse but what he did say to the community and to everybody at the school, all assembled that afternoon, was that he mixes in a crowd in Melbourne, many of whom attended from the get-go prestigious schools and went to the most shining of the institutions and all the rest.

When the question turned to, 'How were your school days?', he would tell the story of his having attended Kangarilla Primary School, and they would say, 'Gee, you've come a long way from those humble starting circumstances.' He reflected it was in some ways quite the opposite, because the sorts of values that he had the good fortune to acquire in the course of his time at that small country school, cared for by people who were at the heart and soul of everything that goes on in that region, are things that he has taken through his entire life. He says, 'Well, I have the richness of that starting point that I feel extraordinarily fortunate to have.' So it was wonderful to hear from Jamie Smart among many others on that very happy occasion.

So, at the risk of being in more trouble with Donna Lean, perhaps can I say what she would be quick to say, and that is that of course the success of any one school is not down to an individual alone, let alone the 150-year legacy of a school, but it takes that important leadership. Donna Lean is a shining-light example of what we see so much, far and wide, through the Hills and through the rest of South Australia.

It is well that we are hearing from so many contributors around the chamber today because the vocation that is teaching is so fundamentally important to so much of what we can enjoy and benefit from. It is often unheralded, it is often uncelebrated in a day-to-day way, but take a chance. If this World Teachers' Day presents that chance, make that special effort to say thanks to an outstanding teacher in the service now, to an outstanding teacher who set you on your way and to those who are really underpinning that day-to-day system of education for all our children in this state. I commend the motion in its amended form and I commend the motion otherwise to the chamber.

Mr DIGHTON (Black) (11:35): I rise to support the motion of the member for Davenport and thank her for moving this motion to honour our teachers on World Teachers' Day 2025. The day reminds our society what a profound impact our teachers have.

I want to start by talking briefly about why I became a teacher, and I mentioned this a little bit in my very first speech. I studied a Bachelor of Secondary Education whilst working for a federal senator and then whilst working at the SDA union. It was after a stint working for a government relations and PR company with Cathy King that I decided I needed to go and save my soul. Hence, I thought I had better use my degree and become a teacher.

It was the best decision I ever made because whilst, yes, I certainly did save my soul—many times over, I would argue, in terms of that work—it was the satisfaction I got from seeing the impact every day of being a teacher. There is something incredibly rewarding about being able to teach to support students with their learning and see that outcome.

Often, in this job—a very important role—the decisions we make and the effort we make in here are not often seen for some period of time to come. We do not always see that microlevel change. What we are doing is often about the macro. That is what is very satisfying about being a teacher, seeing that microlevel change, seeing the impact every day. I feel so blessed to have had that opportunity.

I would argue teaching is one of the most important professions in our community. It is the foundation that all other professions are arguably built on—they are—because without teachers we would not have those. Teachers do more than deliver lessons: they inspire, they guide, they support, they help young people with their strengths, and they overcome challenges.

As the newest member of parliament, I often get asked, and I am sure lots of people get asked: are you enjoying it? What do you miss? What is great about this new job? We could go on about lots of things that are good and bad about this particular role. I put on the record that it is a great honour to be standing here as the member for Black, so that is number one. What I do miss about my previous career is being part of a school community, working with a team of dedicated educators, working with families, working with students in that community, in learning communities. It was very rewarding.

As I spoke about in my first speech, I was lucky to be part of the Sacred Heart College community. I want to pay tribute to the hundreds of different educators I worked with in my time at Sacred Heart College. It was a fantastic school community that really supported students to have a sense of belonging and to have excellent wellbeing and academic achievement.

In the last year I have had the great privilege of being in this role and then being able to go to visit school communities within my electorate, and I do want to acknowledge those schools. Apologies to the member for Flinders and the member for Schubert: I only have seven school communities, so I manage to get to all of them, and I am going to every graduation—how about that? That includes Hallett Cove School R-12, Hallett Cove East Primary School, Hallett Cove South Primary School, Seaview Downs Primary School, Seacliff Primary School, Sheidow Park Primary School and Woodend Primary School. Seaview High School is not in my electorate—it is in the member for Davenport's—but a number of my residents within Black are zoned for that.

It has been terrific to go to those schools to see the teaching and learning that is taking place there. They are fantastic examples of really effective teaching and learning that is taking place in schools. In my last year at Sacred Heart we were doing some particular things around literacy and making some really important changes, and I remember thinking, 'Look at this. We are so revolutionary at Sacred Heart, and we've got these new ideas.'

Then I go to Hallett Cove East Primary School, and they have been doing these literacy techniques for five years. So I thought, 'I might tone down how good I think I am with those particular ones.' This demonstrates the great efforts that have been going on in our schools. I have mentioned all the public schools and I want to also mention that I have one Catholic school, Saint Martin de Porres Catholic School, which is another fantastic school community.

I have had an opportunity to visit all the governing councils of my schools and again see the way that the parents of my community really feel so proud of their schools and so proud of the effort that the teachers within those schools put in. I think that is what we need: when everyone is working together we see great outcomes. But ultimately it is the teachers who are in charge of the learning programs within our schools, and the effort they put in to ensure that those learning programs are effective is fantastic.

I think it is important—and the member for Davenport mentioned this briefly—when talking about World Teachers' Day that we acknowledge that teaching has become more complex. Certainly in my time as an educator I saw the complexity change, in a couple of areas in particular, I would say. Certainly the wellbeing of our students and the complexity of the wellbeing needs of our students has placed more responsibility on teachers to assist with that, almost as counsellors in many ways, in that landscape.

I would say that another aspect is probably the curriculum changes that take place. There is important emphasis on supporting better learning, but it certainly creates administrative tasks and, as the member for Davenport mentioned, we are looking at ways that we can remove some of the red tape. So that is a greater focus, and I know this government is trying to look at different ways we can do that.

Given that complexity, it is important to highlight the Malinauskas Labor government's support of teachers through the enterprise agreement, which not only provided a pay rise but, I would argue, more importantly provided teachers with more time for preparation. That is critical for our teachers, who are often working well after hours to plan their lessons and to do their marking and such things.

We know the strength of our education system lies in the strength of our teachers, and on World Teachers' Day we must do more than thank them: we must support them. Having said that, I will be going, like others, to all of my seven schools, to visit them on Friday with a box of goodies, just so the teachers do feel supported. To every teacher in South Australia: your work matters. You are shaping the future of our state, one student, one lesson, one moment at a time, so let's honour you not just on World Teachers' Day but every day.

Mr ODENWALDER (Elizabeth) (11:44): I rise to speak extremely briefly on this motion, and in doing so, obviously, I support the spirit of the motion moved by the member for Davenport, and I know it is something she believes in very passionately. I do just want to take issue with the amendments raised by the member for Flinders and, in doing so, I move to amend the amendment moved by the member for Flinders as follows:

Delete the proposed deletions and insertions of words in paragraphs (b), (c) and (d).

And obviously, by implication, accepting the deletions and insertions in paragraph (a) of the amendment—but I am sure at the end of this debate I will commend to the house a very important motion.

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (11:45): I rise to speak in support of this motion and thank my good friend the member for Davenport for bringing it to this house and giving all of us an opportunity to acknowledge the incredible work teachers do in our community. As the member for Black said, they really are the foundation of our community.

I acknowledge that we are all in the middle of graduation season at the moment, and what I have found over the years is it actually gives a really good insight into how the schools are run and the feeling in the community at each of the schools. What I have witnessed over and over again is the incredible relationships teachers have built with their students over a long period of time and the absolute pride they see in them on graduation night, when they send them on their way after spending so many years supporting them and educating them.

I would like to acknowledge all of the teachers in the electorate of Gibson, in 11 schools as we are counting today, and thank them so much. I thank the teachers in Gibson for their commitment, for the many, many hours they bring to delivering world-class education to our young people and also the real passion that they show in their relationships with children. We know that if we want young people to succeed, it really is the relationship that matters, and I thank them for giving it their all in developing those relationships.

As I stand here recognising World Teachers' Day, I must acknowledge the teachers in my family. My grandpa Frank Andrews was a teacher at Gulnare; in fact, he taught all of the classes at Gulnare Primary School before moving to the city and teaching at Sturt Street Primary School. After finishing university, my dad, Tony Andrews' first job was teaching at Sacred Heart College, which is in my electorate. That meant that he got to live for a year with my mum in the small cottage on the corner of Brighton Road and Walkers Road in Somerton Park, which is still there today, and they even got married in the chapel at Sacred Heart College.

My dad, after a year at Sacred Heart, ended up at Sturt Teachers College and he spent many years there teaching young people how to become maths teachers, a really crucial role that my dad played that I am super proud of. I will also acknowledge his role at Sturt college as a union delegate and making sure that all of the professionals at Sturt Teachers College were able to fight for and improve their wages and conditions. So it is a real honour for me to stand here and acknowledge not only all of the teachers in our community but particularly my dad and my grandpa.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (11:49): I rise to speak on this amended motion, and a very good amendment that it is, particularly getting the date right. I think the date is really important for World Teachers' Day, just to kick it off. As one of the more experienced MPs in this chamber, I often reflect on what used to be and what is today within our teaching institutions, particularly with the style of education programs that are being implemented.

Back in yesteryear when I attended Paringa Park down at Somerton, it was renowned as one of the great primary schools in South Australia, no more so than by having some of AFL's greats attending in my class, in the year below me and the year above me. Today, they are still recognised as some of the great sporting stars of modern-day sport. There were also athletes. I remember back in the day when we used to play red rover across the oval that it was a breeding ground for runners. It was a breeding ground for those who could get away and not get branded. It was also a hotbed for teaching kids how to run really fast and keep away from the school bullies, as you might say.

I still reflect on some of my teachers way back and some of those memories that those teachers and principals instilled in me. They are still the guidelines that I use today, whether it is in my business or in the way I am a father, a husband, a farmer or a general part of today's society. I will really show my age now, but I remember I was the drummer at school assembly back in those days. I would take turns with my best mate. One day I would be on the—what is the small drum?

The SPEAKER: Snare drum.

Mr WHETSTONE: Yes, that will do.

Mrs Hurn: Bongos.

Mr WHETSTONE: No, not the bongo drum. There was the large chest drum, the big job out in front.

The SPEAKER: The bass drum.

Mr WHETSTONE: The bass drum, that will do. The siren used to go and we used to play the drums, and that was a march to assembly. That might really show my age. I am not quite as old as the member for Light, but pretty close. What it also showed us back in those days was that there was a level of discipline that has dissipated today, but I accept modern techniques. Obviously, having children who have been through the education system at primary, secondary and university, I have had to curb my ways and thinking because of modern-day practices.

Back in those days we would go to school and the first thing we would do is we would have the milk monitors come around and deliver milk to the classrooms. They were the days where it was part of our health program to make sure that every school child had a container of milk to start the day to help with sustenance. Back in those days it was not really reported about children, parents or families having the hardship of not being able to provide a level of breakfast, so that was just a given back in those days to start a day at school.

There were many practices that we used to undertake that makes me reflect. I bet there would not be too many MPs in here who played marbles at school. How many MPs had yo-yo championships come to their school?

Members interjecting:

Mr WHETSTONE: Yes, they are still going. That is great to see, because I remember in grade 6 I was the school yo-yo champion. That was a bit of a claim to fame back then. Moving along out of the aged history, I did move away from Somerton up to Henley and attended Henley High School. It was a rough and tough school. You had to fight your way past the gate when entering school of a morning. It really did teach you how to look after yourself down in the western suburbs. Again, it also gave me a great opportunity to learn the values of what secondary school meant: how to look after yourself, how to protect your friends and your younger siblings, if need be.

One thing that was quite unique for me is that 45 years after leaving school I had a tap on the shoulder as a minister. My tech teacher gave me that tap on the shoulder. Roger Rowe was his name and he was a great teacher. He used to take us fishing on school holidays. We used to do all sorts of after-hours curricular activities that probably do not happen today. Today, he has moved out of the education system: he is a property developer, he is a professional fisherman and he is a farmer. We shared great stories and memories, because he was the teacher who tapped me on the shoulder 50 years earlier to give me my letter to say, 'It's time for you to go and get a job,' which I did and that put me into an apprenticeship at GMH.

But enough of me and enough of yesteryear: it is all about today's education system and how our teachers are great for not only instilling principles and teaching but the takeaway, which is really what I remember about school. It is about certain things that teachers would install into our brains that are still there, indelibly, today. These are the things that really matter to me, and that is why I think it is so important that we have good teaching principles no matter what era we are in and no matter what millennium we are in.

I want to thank every teacher, whether they were my favourite or they were my least favourite through my education period. I got the cane for good reason. I got reprimanded for good reason. But I got—

Members interjecting:

Mr WHETSTONE: Nothing has changed, has it, really? What I must say is that our teachers install a lot of things into us—into our kids, into our students—and I thank them for that every day.

I do want to quickly whizz through and acknowledge the schools in my electorate, because I think it is very important. I do have a reasonably large electorate—not as big as the member for Flinders or the member for Giles, but I do have about 30 schools. At Renmark we have Renmark High School, Renmark Primary School, Renmark North Primary School, Renmark West Primary School, St Joseph's School and St Francis of Assisi College.

At Berri we have the Berri Regional Secondary College, and I thank the minister for working with me and with the school to not only transition away from Glossop but also iron out some of the wrinkles in the road to get it to where it is today. There is the Berri Primary School and the Riverland Special School. It is very, very important that the Riverland Special School is acknowledged for its great work. Those teachers go above and beyond to educate, support and install a level of confidence into those who are less fortunate than the mainstream. Our Lady of the River is also another school in Berri.

In Barmera we have Barmera Primary School. In Glossop we have a primary school as well as St Josephs School in Barmera. At Loxton, Loxton High School is a renowned sporting school but also has excellent academic credentials. It is a travelling school that wins many, many competitions academically and in sport, and that cannot be overstated. There is Loxton Primary School, Loxton Lutheran School, St Albert's Catholic School and Loxton North School. At Waikerie we have Waikerie High School, which has also produced some outstanding sporting greats in South Australia, as well as Waikerie Primary School and Waikerie Lutheran Primary School.

But we also have some schools that are a little bit more isolated. We look at Rivergum Christian College, we look at Kingston-on-Murray Primary School, we look at the Swan Reach Area School, we look at Cambrai Primary School, we look at Blanchetown Primary School, we look at Morgan Primary School, we look at Monash as a community school, and we also look at Ramco Primary School. They are doing an outstanding job as little outreach posts or outreach schools.

A lot of these schools are in soldier-settlement communities and they have stood the test of time. I want to thank the teachers, the support staff and the principals who have been at those schools over a period of time and kept them functioning and up to modern-day practices and made sure that they are a great part of our society.

I do not have much time left, but I just want to acknowledge the after-hours services that those teachers and staff give to our sporting community. I thank all of them for their coaching and their support efforts after hours.

The SPEAKER (11:59): Before I call the Minister for Education, I just want to put on the record, too, my thanks to all the teachers in South Australia, particularly at the 15 schools within the electorate of Mawson. We really appreciate everything that you do. This Friday, I will be down at Yankalilla Area School for their awards day, which I am really looking forward to.

I want to give a special shout-out to the teachers down at Rapid Bay Primary School, one of the smallest schools in the state, not that dissimilar to the school where I started out down at Glencoe West. Rapid Bay is a very small school, led very well by principal Jen McArdle. The students from there came into parliament about six or seven weeks ago and I took them on a tour, and then on that Friday I went down to the school and they did a quiz all about the Parliament of South Australia. You would reckon someone who has been in here for 20 years, the Speaker of the house, might have done alright—I came second to a very fast eleven year old whose nom de plume on the game we were playing was Bob the Piggy. Bob got 26,541 points to my 25,672. It just showed the retention that these students had.

We take a lot of tours in here, but I have never actually been involved in a follow-up quiz. I got all the answers right, including 'Who is the Premier of South Australia?'—I knew that it was not Leon Bignell, Tex Walker or Donald Duck, so I got that one right—but Bob the Piggy was so quick on the buzzer, I just could not get in front of him. To Jan and to all the teachers at Rapid Bay, and to everyone across all the schools in Mawson, thank you very much. We appreciate everything you do.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER (Wright—Minister for Education, Training and Skills, Minister for Police) (12:01): It is my pleasure to rise and speak in support of the motion from the member for Davenport. Of course, as Minister for Education, I put on the record my thanks to all those members in this place from both sides of the chamber who have already spoken and said some very generous and I think very heartfelt words about the schools in their own electorates and the work that they are doing now but also their own memories from their time at school. I agree with a lot of those sentiments, including those from the member for Chaffey talking about some of the things that, when you get older, you think back on that were instilled in you by teachers. You might not—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: I was being generous there. There were things that at the time you might not have understood the importance or the wisdom of, and as you get older you think back on roles that teachers played in your life and you realise they were so important. I say that as the son of a public high school teacher. My father taught in a public high school for 40 years or more. He was my teacher on three occasions at the public high school I went to, which was an interesting experience.

Again, as I look back on that time, I felt very lucky because he was an excellent teacher. It was a special thing to actually share that time with my own dad in the classroom and really see up close the challenges of his job and also the things that really inspired him to stay in the classroom for 40 years. I have drawn on that a lot in the three and a bit years that I have done this job, thinking back on the observations he has shared with me across his time teaching.

There are a couple of anecdotes I will quickly share before speaking more specifically to what we are doing in South Australia. One of those is recollections of my father, my brother and I travelling in the farm ute from the farm to school and then back again at the end of the day. My brother and I would normally wait around outside the staffroom until dad finished—sometimes I would help him with the footy tipping when it was done the old-fashioned way—and we would stop by Woolworths on the way home to get a few supplies before heading back to the farm.

I used to absolutely dread going into Woolworths with dad, who had gone to the school at which he taught and I was then a student, because by this stage he had taught three generations of the same family, in some cases, in a small country town. You would be wandering through the aisles of Woolworths with him, and everyone he met he either went to school with, taught them, taught their children or taught their grandchild, and you would be stuck there like a shag on a rock as he had these long conversations with people and caught up with them. At the time, you wanted nothing more than to jump back in the ute and go home.

I can remember on a few occasions there would be people who would run across the road to grab dad and bail him up and tell him about what they were doing in their lives now. I remember that on almost all of those occasions, we would hop back in the ute and the first thing dad would say was, 'That was one of the most difficult kids I ever taught.' It was disproportionately those who had had a tough time at school—and dad had spent more time with them; he believed in them or had given them a bit of advice that had led to them getting their life back on track, and they had gone on to do really well for themselves in terms of employment—who were always the ones who later in life—they might have been 30 or 40—wanted to find dad to say, 'Thanks for that. I just want to you let you know I'm doing well now.'

At the time, I dreaded having to listen to those conversations, but I think now how affirming that must have been for dad and for other teachers who would get that as well, because teaching is one of the very few jobs in the world that is a genuine calling. People feel they are called to do the job. They do not do it for money: they do it because they feel that was what they were put on the earth to do. I am sure for people who feel that, when they get that feedback from students they have had in years gone past about the life-changing support they were able to give, which is what they went into the job for in the first place, it must make all the difference. It must get them through those hard times, and I know there are lots of those for our teachers.

The other observation made by my father that I share with our current teaching workforce is his own perception of how the job changed between the time of him starting in 1972 and finishing in about 2012. I know it is a trend that has continued in the 13 or 14 years since he has been out of the teaching workforce. He felt that he spent a lot less time teaching by the end of his career, which was of course what he was passionate about doing. He stayed in the classroom and spent much more time managing the behaviour of students and also managing the behaviour of parents.

He always said that when people asked him, 'Ivan, what changed in your time of teaching?', he would say, 'Well, when I called a parent in 1972 to say Johnny is not behaving himself, they would say, "I'm sorry, we will work on that and he won't do it again."' When he made the same phone call in 2012, he would normally get an earful of abuse from someone who would say that Mr Boyer was the problem and 'you are victimising my kid'. I hear this from our teachers all the time.

I know that when someone feels like they have been called to a profession to do something—to change lives, to work with kids, to stay in the classroom—if there are things that are getting in the way of you doing that, you are not going to stay in the job. You are going to go and lend your services and your skills and your passion to another career where you feel you can better do the things that originally called you to teaching.

So on World Teachers' Day—this motion is about World Teachers' Day—I want to just acknowledge all the teachers in South Australia, who work under what I think are more complex circumstances than we have seen before in the classroom and probably in terms of out of the classroom, too. There have been a whole heap of societal changes that have occurred in the last 10, 20 or 30 years that have made the job harder, and we value incredibly what you do.

My message to them always at events, where we might be welcoming graduate teachers or new staff, is that if you are indeed one of those people who feel like you are called to be a teacher because you want to change young people's lives and support them, I can tell you that given the kind of challenges that society faces now, and those additional challenges that have been brought to bear by societal change, technological change and the state of young people's mental health, then more than ever before, absolutely, teaching is the place where you are needed.

Those young people might not be getting that support in their home life or outside of school. In many cases, the only place they are going to get that support and the help they desperately need is from the teacher and from their school. My message is: although I know the job is tough, it is life-changing work almost more than it has ever been because of the things we see young people present to school with. They need that committed, dedicated teacher who is willing to go above and beyond for that individual. Hopefully, when they bump into them in the street 10 or 20 years later, they will get the same kind of feedback that my dad got. They will say, 'Those things you did for me changed my life.'

I just want to touch upon some of the things that we have focused on as a government, which are all in the spirit of the kinds of changes I just mentioned that I think we have seen in the workforce not just in South Australia but absolutely globally. I had the pleasure of representing Jason Clare earlier this year at an international education conference. I was taken aback by the fact that all the things raised by ministers from France, Germany, Finland and Canada were exactly the same things that we are grappling with here in Australia. It really is a global shift in terms of what educators are dealing with.

The things that we have done are around trying to address workload where we can, which is hard, and then the enterprise bargaining agreement, which was hard fought. We had strong pay rises in there of 4, 3, 3 and 3 per cent, but we also sought to try to give an extra hour of non-instructional time, which comes at a great cost to the budget, but we did that in recognition of the fact that we know workload has increased and we are trying to find ways to reduce that for our workforce.

We made a commitment around permanency. I can say that in 2022 we converted 200 staff to permanency and in the last two years we have converted more than 650 staff to permanency, getting them off contracts. I think it is a really important time for us to be doing that. We need to keep young teachers. They need job security, particularly at a time when it is hard to save a deposit to buy a house and pay down a mortgage. Having that job security is important for them and important in terms of making a decision to stay at our schools.

There are a lot of different things that we have sought to do, including trying to address those changes in the classroom, in the first place to introduce autism inclusion teachers, which I think has been a big success in primary schools. We are running a trial in secondary schools as well. We have also added that layer of extra permanency to our preschool staff, which is not something the department has really done in the past. We are acknowledging the important role that preschool plays by also making sure that we increase those permanency levels in preschool as well.

I want to commend the member for Davenport for this motion and thank all those who have spoken so genuinely and authentically about the importance of schools in their electorate. I commend the motion to the house.

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (12:11): I also rise to support this important motion and acknowledge all the teachers in the vast electorate of Giles and the hard and conscientious work that they do. When it comes to schools in my electorate, they range from the big to the very small. There is Whyalla Secondary College, which has well over 1,000 students. There is a reasonable-sized high school in Port Augusta, the one public high school in Port Augusta, and, of course, Roxby Downs has a reasonable-sized school as well.

Then you have the very remote areas, the APY lands with an area the size of England with small communities scattered over the vast distances connected by dirt roads. The teachers who work in those very remote areas often face some serious challenges. They do an amazing job and it is a real commitment.

Indeed, throughout the school system, both the public education system and the private system—I do not have all that many private schools in my electorate; it is primarily the Catholic system, one or two private schools—all the teachers I come across do an amazing job and they are dedicated to their students.

We all have opinions about our education because we all were exposed at one time to the good, the bad and the indifferent when we went to school. One of my real memories is back in England before coming out here. We went to a Catholic school, but they were lay schools in England. My memory is of a whole bunch of kids out on the lawn on a warm, sunny day, which is unusual in the north of England. We were on the grass and apparently we were not allowed to be on the grass. So people had to admit if they were on the grass. A whole bunch of kids did—I had the good sense not to—and then, at an assembly, all the kids who admitted to being on the grass (about 60 kids) were flogged. They were all caned, and the headmaster went through a number of canes in those beatings.

That has always stuck in my mind, and it has especially stuck in my mind because after we moved to Australia we used to get the papers for a while and we saw that that headmaster was done for embezzling the dinner money at the school. And there he was, flogging all these kids for being on the grass. That was one of the memories that stuck in my mind.

When we came out to Australia, I had the good fortune, if you want to put it that way, to be exposed to the tender mercies of the Christian Brothers. The Christian Brothers in the school that I went to had a real propensity also to flog people. They had a very specialised instrument that they used to use. It was layers of leather stitched together that they would give you a good whacking with.

They had a propensity to use corporal punishment, and I had a propensity to resist, so eventually I led a rebellion in the school. I led a protest against the use of corporal punishment—I was ahead of my time—and as a result of leading that protest and refusing to apologise, I was expelled, which then led me to the public education system in Whyalla at Eyre High. I would have to say that Eyre High was good and there was one teacher in particular who stood out. His name was Peter Francis. I think he ended up being a principal down Victor Harbor way, but he was my history teacher plus English teacher.

He took me aside just before a public exam to give me a big lecture to pull my finger out, and I did. That made, years later, a difference to my life because I also managed to get expelled from that school, but I like to say they invited me back to do the graduation speech. They invited me back to do the graduation speech and I could open that speech with, 'I've been expelled from two schools, one for being a rebel and from Eyre High for being a ratbag,' and I was a ratbag.

Anyway, I went and did 10 years of labouring. But the thing about it is that in that first public exam I sat for, and in those days it was two, that first leaving exam that I sat for, because of Peter Francis pulling me aside and giving me that lecture, I did incredibly well. Ten years later, after doing this labouring work and the rest of it, I thought, 'No, I've got the capacity to do something else,' and so I went to uni.

Now it was that teacher doing what he did, at that time, that made a difference to my life. I would have to add, of course, so did my dad with his massive propensity as a working-class man to read heavy-duty literature and be across everything that was going on in the world through non-fiction. It was that combination of the school and the family background in a home with lots of books in it, which was unusual. No-one else around us in that area where I grew up had that. You would go into their houses and there were no books there, there were no current affairs magazines. My dad was a little bit different in that sense. So school can make a massive difference to a person's life. Even though I got expelled from two schools and, like I said, Peter Francis took me aside, you do acquire so much that helps to equip you for the world.

It is good that these days—and some people are critical of the lack of corporal punishment, and you see especially baby boomers on social media, 'Dah, dah, dah, dah, bring it back,' and all the evidence indicates it is not a good thing, not a good thing for kids. Some kids do okay, but it is definitely not a good thing and I wish those baby boomers who go on about reintroducing corporal punishment would just shut up.

When I look at the challenges in my electorate, obviously with some schools it is that remoteness. The challenges of when teachers need professional development in country schools mean often going down to Adelaide, and they have to be backfilled which is often very challenging. It is very difficult to backfill positions when teachers go to Adelaide to do that work. You can imagine the distance from the APY lands to Adelaide but even from other communities in my electorate. Our schools often get the new graduates in greater proportion than in the city schools. It is good to have new blood but it is also good to have continuity.

One of the important things about this motion is recognising what used to happen. There was the country allowance for about a five-year period and then it would come to an end. I remember having this discussion with the principal at the Roxy Downs school. What often happened when that allowance came to an end was a whole bunch of teachers wanting to move out. This was constant in country schools—not all country schools, but a fair number of them—so extending that country allowance is an important initiative that has helped a number of schools and especially the more remote schools.

I want to acknowledge what was done in Whyalla with the new high school. In the one year, there were students from 10 different schools starting full bore, the whole lot. It should have been staggered, but it was not. All those year seven kids from seven primary schools, from the two junior high schools and the senior high schools, and it came during COVID. It was a nightmare and the difficulties and the challenges were profound. We have come through that and it has settled down, but I want to acknowledge the teachers at that school and, indeed, the teachers throughout my electorate who do an amazing job.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (12:21): I rise to support the motion. In particular, I would like to focus on paragraph (a) of the motion: 'the crucial role South Australian teachers play in educating future generations'. I think that is probably one of the things a lot of speakers have already mentioned, how teachers actually influence the futures of their students, the children in their care. Irrespective of whether the children are in the public system or the non-government sector, my comments apply to teachers in both those sectors.

As the minister has already outlined, teachers these days face increasing challenges in trying to be the best they can. Some of those challenges are from societal demands, where parents expect teachers to not only teach but also be de facto parents for their children and teach them a whole range of skills, which should be taught in the home. Therefore, often teachers are required to teach their students basic social skills in addition to the curriculum content.

Teachers are now also required to deal with an increasing number of behavioural issues in schools. I see it when I take school groups for tours of parliament .After an hour of being with some groups I think, 'Oh my God, how do the teachers do this all day, every day?' I have enormous sympathy and empathy for the teachers. Sometimes I think teachers would feel disempowered by the whole system too, in their capacity and their ability to actually do the best they can and do more. They are things I know the current minister has been very active in trying to address through a range of policy changes but also in terms of funding, enterprise agreements, etc. I commend him for that.

In terms of students who are neurodivergent, teachers are professionally trained but their students have increasing demands and also there are special classes that we have at schools. I am certainly not suggesting we should separate children—we should not—but it does pose additional demands on our teachers.

I would particularly like to mention the special education unit at Gawler & District College who do an outstanding job with those children in that area. I am sure others do as well but this is the one I am most familiar with. I have seen children when they are in years 7 or 8 but when they are in year 12 they are different human beings in the sense that they have learnt so much. That is because of the work these teachers have done with those students.

As the minister said, teaching is not only a profession, it is a calling, and those people who do become teachers obviously see that calling. When you talk to teachers about what motivated them they will often talk about a teacher who influenced them when they were students and who inspired them to become teachers. That speaks to the important role of teachers and the influence they have on their students, which is the important element of paragraph (a) of this motion, which I fully support.

In addition to the societal demands placed on teachers, I think we often see that teachers are not fairly represented in the media. I have never done teaching, and I am not sure that I am keen to do it—spend a day or two in a classroom with a number of kids of varying abilities and varying demands and with behavioural issues, etc. But we expect teachers to do all that and more. It is not only between 9.00 and 3.00 or 3.30 but also after hours in a whole range of other activities.

This is not a criticism of government, as we do the best we can to fund schools, but often schools do have limited resources and have to then make judgements about how they spend those resources. Particularly in some of the country schools and smaller schools it does get a bit more difficult. As the member for Giles talked about, it is particularly to get opportunities to access professional development, etc., on an ongoing basis. It is tougher for those schools to get a relief teacher or to access the resources for that to happen.

There are huge benefits in working in country schools, but there are also challenges. Small communities are very strong, but also the worst bit about them can be that they are small communities. A teacher can actually face challenges in small communities that they do not face in metropolitan Adelaide. So the demands are greater, and teachers are much more accountable in country towns. Teachers are much more accountable, hugely more accountable, and exposed in country towns; we have to acknowledge that. But also, if they have really good relationships, a country town is a great place to teach.

I am sure everybody in this chamber today can think of a teacher who has inspired them in some way or who has had a really positive influence on their lives—and also perhaps there were some who had less of an influence. I can remember my own teachers when I started primary school in 1964. I had newly arrived from Italy with not a word of English, and so I think of my poor teacher; I am not sure how she coped. I still remember her fondly: Miss Boucher. She obviously got me across the line, because I did eventually pick up some words and learnt. Then, for my sins, I had to become a translator for my parents when we went to places—so I interpreted for my parents as a result. Languages were an issue for me, but I do not have a recollection of not speaking English at school, so I must have learnt pretty quickly.

In the northern areas of metro Adelaide, in parts of my electorate and also the member for Elizabeth's electorate, there is an increasing number of students from multicultural backgrounds, and that does pose a challenge. It is not necessarily a language issue, because often these students have come from countries where English is a second language or the first language, but a cultural issue. There is a whole range of cultural changes and things which teachers need to be aware of, such as how students dress and how they relate to students. So there are increasing demands.

While I think multiculturalism is a good thing, it does pose challenges for teachers in those classes. Some of the classes in those areas have up to 30 per cent of students who themselves or whose parents have come from overseas. That does provide opportunities for growth but also challenges for them.

It is interesting how times have changed for teachers. Going back to 11 November 1975, I can remember quite vividly where I was and what I was doing when the teacher announced to our classroom that Gough Whitlam had been sacked by the Governor-General. I can remember that time, that date and that event as if it were yesterday, and in a few weeks' time it will be 50 years ago. It was a reasonably conservative school I went to, and teachers were not often able to actually express their views.

For many years I had this misapprehension that my teacher was happy that Gough Whitlam was sacked, so I disliked him for many years. I then found out otherwise from another teacher at Gawler high, who was a student when I was a student, and who was now his principal at another school. I will mention the teacher's name and I will explain why. She said, 'No, John Fielding was a strong Labor man, a strong union person, etc.' I had him all wrong, but he was unable to say it: he just announced it. When he retired, I went to a school event and apologised to him and gave a book on Whitlam as a gift.

It is interesting now how the dynamics of schooling have changed, but teaching has always been important. I think it is very important—and this motion does this—that we acknowledge and honour teachers' professionalism and also their resilience and determination to do the best they can for their pupils. On this year's World Teachers' Day, I say thank you and I hope you have a great day.

Ms THOMPSON (Davenport) (12:30): Thank you to all of those who have contributed to the debate today, and there were many, including the members for Flinders, Elder, Schubert, Torrens, Heysen, Black, Elizabeth, Gibson, Chaffey, Mawson, the Minister for Education and the members for Giles and Light. We also had a special contribution from a student from the member for Elder's electorate, young Angus from Unley High School: thank you for your contribution to this debate also.

I certainly do not envy the country members' drive times between visiting schools. That is a real commitment there and having so many schools in your electorates also. But it has been fantastic to hear about the great outcomes that all of the members who have contributed have seen from their schools and their teachers and their students in their electorates.

Obviously, everybody agrees that teachers have a huge influence on our students but ultimately then a huge influence on the future of our state also. It is a really important day for us to celebrate this Friday. It is great to hear that so many members will be getting out in their communities and thanking their teachers for the good work they do, and I think many local bakeries will be benefiting from that also. Teachers in the electorate of Davenport will be receiving South Australian Kytons Bakery lamingtons, as they do each year. Thank you so much to all those who contributed. I commend the original motion that was amended and then amended again.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question before the Chair is that the amendment to the amendment, moved by the member for Elizabeth, be agreed to. So what we will vote on first is the member for Elizabeth's amendment, which seeks to amend the amendment moved by the member for Flinders.

Amendment carried.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: We now move to the question before the Chair that the amendment put by the member for Flinders, as amended by the member for Elizabeth, be agreed to.

Amendment carried; motion as amended carried.