Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I will definitely come to the member’s question but will first conclude on two other matters. I was indicating to my frequent correspondent that we are a government that has invested more in principal autonomy in state schools than any government before us. As a result of our Smarter Schools National Partnerships, the New South Wales government is trialling a pilot program in 47 schools identified as disadvantaged schools to increase school based decision making, including devolving more responsibility to local principals and flexibility in staffing and resource management. We are working in Queensland with principals in at least 10 per cent of government schools to operate in a more autonomous school environment by 2013. In Western Australia we are resourcing 34 state schools to become independent public schools. So it is okay to talk the talk about principal autonomy, but when we actually go to the scoreboard, this is a government that has delivered more in two and a bit years than we saw in the 12 years before.

On the question of the delivery of Building the Education Revolution, the biggest capital constructs are in primary schools. There are 7,700 of them; 5,500 of them are in state schools. This was a big capital construct that needed to be delivered quickly. The member is inviting people to conclude that it would have made sense for the first time ever to say to those 5,500 principals, ‘You do it this time, under time pressure, because it’s economic stimulus, rather than using the capital development mechanisms that are there.’ We relied for an urgent delivery of economic stimulus on the capital development mechanisms that were there. Of course I believe in principal autonomy. That is why, as Minister for Education, I have done more in that area than any education minister before me.

I am not sure whether the member for Stirling is still shadow minister for workplace relations or whether Senator Abetz is—it is too complicated to watch the Liberal Party’s chairs go around—but I want to correct a statement that the shadow minister made which is absolutely incorrect and ought not be in Hansard uncorrected. The member for Stirling made a statement about the employment of some young people in Terang. He suggested that their employment had a problem with workplace relations laws only as a result of our new, modern, simple award. That claim is 100 per cent untrue and completely wrong. The 1½ hour engagement of these young people was not in accordance with the pre-existing Victorian award, which had a two-hour minimum call-out period. Yes, it is not in accordance with the simple, modern award that has a three-hour minimum call-out period but to, firstly, suggest that the issue here only developed because of award modernisation and the fair work system is simply not true and ought not to be said by anybody who wants to be taken seriously. The question that the member for Lyne has raised with me is a very good one. I would like to congratulate him on his very persistent advocacy.

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