The Territory Labor Governmenthas agreed to temporarily double a relocation allowance for Katherine teachersin 2020, as part of an ongoing review into the towns teacher housing subsidy.
Consultation has been ongoingwith teachers, principals, school communities and the Australian Education UnionNT since the announcement in April that the $2 million annual Katherine teacherhousing subsidy will be reviewed as a budget repair measure.
It is anticipated $500,000 willbe saved annually with the implementation of a new housing subsidy model fromTerm 1, 2020.
Throughout the consultation,the attraction and retention of quality teachers to the Katherine township has repeatedlybeen raised as a concern.
To ease the transition to thenew model and help principals continue to attract teachers, the Territory LaborGovernment has agreed to initially double the relocation allowance for Katherineteachers from the current 10 fortnightly payments to 20 in 2020.
The payment will reduce to 15fortnightly payments in 2021 before returning to 10 in 2022.
The current Katherine teacherrelocation rates are $755 per fortnight for employees with children and $546per fortnight for those without.
As noted byMinister for Education, Selena Uibo.
The Territory LaborGovernment is implementing a plan for budget repair that is making toughdecisions and every department needs to do its share of heavy lifting.
The Katherine teacher housingsubsidy has not been reviewed in 30 years and has not been indexed during thistime. It has been identified as something that can operate more efficiently,delivering $500,000 in savings annually.
We know it is important thatwe continue to attract quality teachers to Katherine, which is why we aresupporting schools through this transition to a more equitable new model.
As noted by Memberfor Katherine, Sandra Nelson.
We have extensively consultedwith teachers, principals, staff and the wider Katherine community throughoutthis review and we have listened.
I have worked closely withthe Minister for Education to ensure the transition to the new teacher housingsubsidy model will not impact the ability of our Katherine schools to attractand keep quality teachers.
