Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The point I have been making is that the blame game mantra used by the government in relation to what are state government responsibilities has meant that basically everyone is responsible and, therefore, no-one is responsible, particularly when Labor is in power at every level. The government likes to talk about the buck stopping in particular places, but we have found that the buck is in a constant search for where to stop under the Rudd government. This buck is in perpetual motion, as it moves around this chamber and around the country and is unable to find a home. This is a homeless buck when it comes to responsibility on issues that relate to state governments.

In Australia now, in what is called the end of the blame game era, we do not have competitive federalism and we do not have cooperative federalism; we have collusive federalism—a collusion between the states of mates. There is a convenient silence on issues. If we want to do something serious about truancy in this country, our first step must be to ensure that state governments do their job of ensuring that our kids stay in school, that our kids are effective in school and want to be in school, and that we move forward on that basis. In New South Wales, my home state, there are a range of issues which are very concerning. The Auditor-General’s report echoes many of the national statistics. It talks about retention rates being below national averages. It talks about at-risk groups—in particular, Aboriginal students and students from low-socioeconomic-status backgrounds—all having falling retention rates. This is of great concern in my home state. Literacy and numeracy standards, the tests of the Social Security and Veterans’ Entitlements Legislation Amendment (Schooling Requirements) Bill 2008, are suffering as a result of not only truancy rates but also, I suspect, the way that schools are run in that state.

To be fair, I should confess that recent initiatives have brought about legislative changes in New South Wales that have resulted in 154 attendance prosecutions involving 191 children being launched since April. This is a positive matter, a positive step forward, and I commend the New South Wales government at least for doing that. Prosecutions do have an effect under state laws, under state responsibilities, of making parents more aware of their responsibility. However, as I was alluding to in my earlier comments, the answer is much closer to what is happening on the ground than what is happening here in Canberra.

I believe that the solutions in our schools need to be community based. In 2004, a report entitled Disenchantment, disengagement and disappearance was prepared by the Australian Council for Educational Research. That report proclaimed the need to deal with issues relating to parental responsibility, which I would support. However, some of the measures it talks about for reducing truancy rates relate to matters that are much more local. Some of the recommendations of this report are a whole-of-school commitment to effort in reducing absenteeism and suspensions; provision of options for any suspended students allowing their learning to proceed; changing a school climate to emphasise cooperation and to encourage active learning to take place in and out of the classroom; cultural inclusiveness and sensitivity to learning cycles, languages and traditions amongst minority ethnic groups; smaller schools where values and expectations are shared and clear, both in policies and in their enactment; a thorough system of pastoral care and counselling which reaches parents as well as students. I note that there is only one counsellor per 1,000 students in high schools in New South Wales and only one counsellor per 1,500 primary school students in New South Wales, which is a matter that needs urgent attention. Further recommendations of the report are dynamic classrooms led rather than ruled by their teachers; classrooms which respond flexibly to students’ stated and perceived needs rather than a rigid qualifications-driven process; and strengthening teachers’ skills with in-service education which enables them to function more professionally for a wider range of student abilities and interests.

The ‘heavy lifting’ on truancy is in how schools are run. If we allow our states to absolve themselves of their responsibilities simply on the basis of adopting a blame game rhetoric, I think we are seriously letting children and families down. To bluster on in this place about measures designed to try and send a message but not really do anything effectively on the ground—we already know they will be ineffective because the data will not be provided—is of great concern. It is in the context of reducing truancy through actions in our homes, our schools and our communities that I think we need to consider what level of support we give to community based non-profit organisations that are in our communities, in our clubs and often in our homes and see what role they can play in providing the answer.

For a period of time I worked in New Zealand and was responsible to the New Zealand government for sport policy. One day, when on the South Island of New Zealand, I saw a great sign not far out of Picton. It had been there for a long time. On a big billboard, in painted letters, it said ‘A kid in sport stays out of court’. A few older people in our professional ranks of sport these days may be struggling to live up to that mantra, but I think the mantra of getting kids involved in sport is a positive thing. Why? Because that is where role models emerge. And by ‘role models’ I am not talking about highly paid sportspeople. I am talking about the coach that they meet. I am talking about the parents that they meet. I am talking about the opportunities they have to engage with someone who has taken a clear interest. If that influence is not in the home, then it has got to come from somewhere else. So who are the mentors and role models for these kids at risk? Who is taking an interest when the parents do not? What support, encouragement and recognition in hard policy are we providing for them to work in their communities?

We can go on about these sorts of measures in this bill, which at the end of the day really amount to bluster and headlines, but if we are going to be serious about truancy then we have to look at our schools, homes and communities, not look to Canberra. These are state responsibilities. We have to hold the states accountable for what they are paid money to do. The minute we allow them to walk away from those responsibilities is the day we allow them to walk away from our responsibilities to our own children. (Time expired)

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