For the first time in the 101 year history of the NSW Teachers Federation Members have been advised how they should vote in a Federal Election.
Albury Teachers Association President William Winter said there was a clear policy choice between the partiers this election.
“The choice between the Coalition and its rivals the Greens and ALP is so stark that for the first time ever, the 500 members of Albury Teachers Association have been advised to join with 60 000 colleagues across NSW and vote 1 and 2 for the ALP and Greens,” Mr Winter said.
“Ms Ley turned her back on the public school children of Farrer when she and the Coalition voted to tear up the NERA funding agreement and jettison the $24,890,000 that was to come to Farrer public schools,” he said.
“The Coalition legislated an absolutely indefensible cap on Federal funding of just 20% of the identified learning needs of any student in a public school.”
“The other 80% of a public-school student’s needs are to be funded by the cash-strapped states. The states are currently being kept afloat, financially, via asset sales alone. What happens to our public schools and hospitals when there is nothing left for the states to sell?”
Mr Winter said the ALP and Greens have guaranteed to return every cent of the funding the Coalition has stripped away.
“They have also committed a further $300,000,000 to better support the special education needs of students with a disability.”
“This means that schools can reduce class sizes, employ specialist teachers, speech pathologists and counsellors. It means access for teachers to highly specialised training and resources that cannot be accessed for financial reasons now. The possibilities are the cause of much optimism and hope for public school communities.”
“Ms Ley has an extremely high proportion of remote and isolated public schools, students of low socio-economic background, aboriginal students, students with English as a second language and students with disabilities and learning difficulties. These are the students that will benefit the most from this funding so it is morally reprehensible that she would have voted to remove it in the first place.”
“TAFE teachers are also ecstatic that the ALP and Greens have committed a funding model that will see at least two thirds of vocational education funding allocated to public TAFE colleges. This will see TAFE in NSW go a long way towards returning to the position it once held as the most respected vocational education provider in the world.”
“The NSW Teachers Federation sees this election as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to overturn the inequity of Australia’s education system. It is a chance to end the war on public schools that began under the Howard Government and continues today under Mr Morrison.”
“For this reason the NSW Teachers Federation is calling on all its members to vote to 1 and 2 in either order for the ALP and Greens. This decision has not been taken lightly but it is essential if we are to give our students in public schools the best chance for a quality education regardless of where they live or their parents’ income.”
