Labor’s lip-service to autonomy exposed

The Gillard Government’s school autonomy policy has been undermined by the Queensland Education Minister, Cameron Dick, who has said independent public schools are ‘inappropriate for Queensland’.

“Queensland Labor has attacked the Liberal National Party policy to roll-out independent public schools across the state on one hand, but at the same time Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has herself signed up to the Federal Government’s ‘Empowering Local Schools’ programme,” said Christopher Pyne, Shadow Minister for Education.

“Either Anna Bligh’s Government is so dysfunctional the Education Minister does not know what his Premier is signing up to, or the ‘Empowering Local Schools’ programme is a complete fraud that will achieve nothing,” Mr Pyne said.

“One wonders if Schools Minister Peter Garrett might be quietly praying for a LNP victory in Queensland if he wants to visit any independent public schools in the near future,” he said.

“While Mr Garrett is trying to take credit for the Barnett Government’s ground-breaking independent public school programme on Lateline, the West Australian Labor Opposition has plans to freeze the roll out of independent public schools if elected next year.

“The State School Teachers Union in West Australia report on their website that the Labor Opposition will unwind autonomy measures like a schools ability to contract out services such as maintenance and gardening to local small businesses, which both saves money for education outcomes and slashes bureaucracy.

“It seems that while Liberal’s have the will to transform public education with school autonomy, the Gillard Government’s policies are not supported outside of Canberra,” Mr Pyne said.  

March 1, 2012