Tasmanian schools are at breaking point under the Rockliff Liberal Government.
RTI documents obtained by Labor (attached) have shown that there were a shocking 8,873 suspensions in Tasmanian schools last year – a record high number since the education act was introduced in 2017 and a 28 per cent increase in the last five years.
With a school year having close to 200 teaching days, there were on average 44 suspensions each day across the state – close to two entire classrooms of students.
Alarmingly, these suspensions start at a very young age, with 8 recorded in Kinder classes and 61 in Prep.
The RTI documents also show that 307 staff were physically abused or harassed in Tasmanian schools in 2022.
This record number of suspensions, workers compensation claims and an unacceptable number of staff and students being physically abused, clearly shows the education system is in crisis, with students disengaging from learning in record numbers.
All students and staff deserve to feel safe at school, yet years of poor government support and leadership is making this impossible.
When you add this month’s Productivity Commission report card to the equation, which confirmed Tasmania is lagging behind other states, it demonstrates the Liberals have failed to raise education standards after nearly a decade in government.
As a former Education Minister, you would think Premier Jeremy Rockliff would be doing more to fix these issues in education.
Instead, this Government continues to show they have the wrong priorities as they obsess over building a billion dollar AFL stadium in Hobart.
A future Labor Government would do the hard work and make sure our schools are supported, purposeful, safe and engaging, because that’s what Tasmanians deserve.
Suspensions in Tasmanian schools: 2017 – 2022
| Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Suspensions | 6928 | 7200 | 7425 | 6830 | 8478 | 8873 |
Josh Willie MLC
Shadow Minister for Education & Early Years
