Campaign Launch

Newcastle Greens yesterday launched their State Election Campaigns for the lower house seats of Port Stephens, Wallsend, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Swansea and Charlestown.

Candidates used the launch to speak on a range of Green policy areas including education, planning and development, water, health, the environment and climate change.

I spoke about education, highlighting several important aspects of NSW Greens education policy.

Here is what I had to say:

I joined the Greens, and I am standing as the Greens candidate for Charlestown, because I uphold the ideals contained in the four Green principles:

Ø Social and economic justice
Ø Peace and non-violence
Ø Ecological sustainability
Ø Grassroots democracy

If we are to have a just, peaceful, sustainable and democratic future, then we must have a dynamic and well resourced public education system.

The NSW Greens education policy is designed to deliver that outcome, and it is great, but not surprising, to see that Greens policy follows very closely the demands of the NSW Teachers Federation in their ongoing campaign to support public education in NSW.

Research shows that by the time children begin the 'compulsory' years of schooling many of the factors contributing to future inequality are already evident.

The Greens NSW are committed to 2 years of free universal public preschool for all children in this state. We believe the implementation of universal public pre-schooling should begin with communities with high concentrations of socio-economic disadvantage, where it will have a significant impact on the progress of children through school and into later life.

The Greens are committed to increasing the funding of public schools to address the identified needs of all students.

In NSW the ALP government continues to give $59.6 million to the 63 wealthiest private schools each year. It has increased its annual funding of private schools over the past 10 years. The Minister cannot argue that the government does not have the money to address the needs of children in public education.

The Greens education policy sees resources directed into programs which support

Ø Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
Ø NESB Migrant Students.
Ø Students with disabilities.
Ø All students through increases to School Counsellor/student ratios – with the goal of one counsellor for every 500 students.

The Carr/Iemma government has failed to plan for the rejuvenation of the public education teaching service. Large numbers of teachers are planning to retire in the next 5 years and one third of beginning teachers do not expect to be in the profession in the next 10 years. Public education is facing a teacher shortage and a depletion of experienced teachers.

To address these identified problems, the Greens will work for:
increased Commonwealth investment in teacher education in universities;
programs in hard-to-staff schools, including an additional leadership allowance;
incentives to recruit and retain teachers;
a massive increase in the resources for teacher mentoring, so that more experienced teachers can engage in this process and beginning teachers are well supported

As a matter of priority, The Greens would fund programs that increase the number of teachers to reduce class sizes and face to face teaching times to relieve the pressure on teachers and enable them to remain in active service longer.

It is unfair to teachers and students in public education to expect them to use buildings and facilities that are decrepit, in poor condition and poorly maintained. It is unreasonable that public school students have to wait for an election year to see funding for maintaining adequate toilet facilities. The failure of the government to clear the maintenance backlog is driving parents away from public education as the private alternatives appear fresher and more attractive.

The Greens will work to:
clear the maintenance backlog and
invest in new facilities and buildings that meet the needs of modern public education

The Greens are committed to TAFE as the dominant, public provider of vocational education and training.

A strong and growing TAFE system is not only central to the economic success of our society but it also offers working class Australians an opportunity to participate in the economic, political, cultural and social life of this country. TAFE also plays a central role in second chance education and in the education of young adults at risk – this is especially important to me as I teach in this area at TAFE.

The Greens are opposed to the privatisation of vocational education and training funding and the growth of private providers. Private providers cannot and will not deliver the same benefits as a public TAFE system because they are focused on maximising their own profit, not benefits to society or the student.

The failure of State and Federal governments to support TAFE over the last 4 years has had disastrous consequences for both TAFE teachers and their students. Without a major reversal of the current funding situation, TAFE will continue to experience increasing teacher casualisation, exploitation of casual and full time teachers including escalating workloads, course cancellations and unit hour reductions and declining teacher morale.

The Greens have announced a 4 year, $1.6 billion package for TAFE, that would deliver an additional $400 million of state government funds each year to TAFE.

The Greens NSW are also committed to

Ø Employment Security for TAFE Staff
Ø Renewing the TAFE Workforce

Public education is part of a great Australian tradition and success story. Our public schools offer all Australians the opportunity to strive for individual excellence to build a positive future for themselves, their families and the common good. Free, secular and universally accessible public education has directly shaped Australia's past and present. Accepting all students regardless of cultural, religious, racial or economic background, geographical location or special needs, public education remains the key to a vibrant, socially-cohesive, multicultural, democratic Australia.


Over the past four years, Greens members of the NSW Upper House have worked hard to make public education a national priority. They have supported teacher’s salary claims, opposed private school funding rorts and the private schools for profit rip off, worked for more ESL teachers, smaller class sizes and increased resources for children with special needs. They campaigned for more funding for TAFE and fairer treatment of part-time casual teachers.

As the greens candidate for Charlestown I will continue to highlight these achievements, and the Greens commitment to strong, innovative and vibrant public education.

I will also be working hard to ensure Lee Rhiannon and John Kaye are both elected to the NSW Upper House. I want them to continue their great work as advocates for a public education which equips our children to meet the challenges of the future in ways that are peaceful, just, democratic and sustainable.