ACARA operations caned in secret report

After rejecting Coalition calls for an auditor-general investigation into the My School website, Schools Minister, Peter Garrett, has sneakily hired business and public relations consultants to try and resuscitate Australia's ailing curriculum reporting agency.

"Mr Garrett has consistently denied there are problems at ACARA in need of investigating. These reports came to light only after a media outlet obtained them under Freedom of Information," Christopher Pyne, Shadow Minister for Education said today.

"The two reports are particularly damning as they highlight that ACARA can't even manage to do the bleeding obvious," Mr Pyne said.

The business analysis recommends ACARA adopt a 'planned course of action, to ensure decisions aren't made on the run.' It also suggests greater focus on engaging with stakeholders.

The public relations agency report says ACARA has a 'lack of understanding of the stakeholder environment, lack of communication culture, lack of communication planning and a need for operational awareness.'

If ACARA is making decisions on the run, needs operational awareness and has to engage with stakeholders as the reports suggest, then this is an astonishingly bad indictment.

Peter Garrett can no longer stick his head in the sand and deny there are fundamental problems at ACARA, like he did during the home insulation disaster.

"Mr Garrett needs to take action immediately and begin a ground up restructure of the organisation that is preparing a curriculum that will shape the minds of young Australians into the future," Mr Pyne said.

April 21, 2011

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Adam Howard

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