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Speech: Office for Early Childhood Development Bill

28 November 2024

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (12:27): I rise to speak in favour of the Office for Early Childhood Development Bill and in so doing I want to acknowledge the work and leadership of the minister, the Hon. Blair Boyer, and his team in getting this happening. I know the minister to be somebody who is very passionate about early childhood education, and I think that is demonstrated through this bill.

I also note, as other members have, that this legislation is also being matched by a $1.9 billion investment in the budget to commence the staged rollout for preschool for three year olds and other key reforms in the early childhood sector across the state and they will commence in 2026. We really welcome that in the Greens. I think that is something that will have a transformative effect on our state and so again I do recognise the government's leadership in that regard.

We know early childhood education and care is vital for children's development and for South Australian young children to have the best chance to be their best selves as they grow into adulthood. It is vital this support is provided to women and families.

Part of this bill is the establishment of the Office for Early Childhood Development. It is great that progress has already been made in this regard. The goal of the office, I understand, is to reduce the number of South Australian children who are developmentally vulnerable—and it is a goal that the Greens support—from 1.8 per cent above the national average to seven points below. What is critical here is the acknowledgement of the role of government in ensuring that children in SA are provided with access to positive learning environments and the supports they need from a young age. There is lots that the state government can do, and this is a start.

The functions of the office are indeed appropriate. It has the task of aligning children's needs with support and service, which is something that is obviously very important. It also has the task of promoting inclusion within the early childhood development system for children with disability and children in care. Again, these are things that should be key priorities. It also makes sense, from the Greens' perspective, that the office has responsibility for the overall strategic direction of government early childhood development services, and I understand that is to be the case.

The Greens welcome the fact that a chief function of the new office will be to promote access to preschool for all three year olds and four year olds. As early childhood expert Loris Malaguzzi once said:

The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivations and the richer their experiences.

Early childhood education and care should be universally available and accessible and it should be free. It should be high quality and it should be culturally appropriate. This has been the long-term policy position of the Greens. We also strongly support the principle that early childhood education and care should be government funded and provided by accredited community organisations and not-for-profit providers.

We are pleased to see within this bill some recognition of the unique needs of First Nations children. We welcome the fact that the functions of the office will include upholding the principles of Aboriginal self-determination and safeguarding the cultural identity of First Nations children. First Nations communities are, of course, best equipped to understand how best to make early childhood education and care culturally responsive and to break with Australia's history of cultural assimilation.

We also welcome the fact that the First Nations Voice, we understand, has had input into this bill. I certainly echo the sentiments the Hon. Connie Bonaros made earlier when she reflected on the significance of the speech that we heard in this chamber yesterday. Indeed, the speech was one of the great, powerful and uplifting moments in this parliament, and it was a speech that I think will echo through the ages in terms of its significance. It is really encouraging to see, already, the government working with the Voice to seek their input on important proposals such as this.

One of the suggestions by the Voice is that all committees established under the act by the office or by the minister have a First Nations representative. I think that is a really good suggestion and certainly one that we hope the government takes up. We are optimistic about the changes that will be legislated in this bill. We commend the bill to the house.

 


Speech: Education and Children's Services (Reporting Requirements) Amendment Bill 2024

13 November 2024

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (20:50): I am not very good at maths, but I can tell the numbers are not really likely to move in my favour on this one. I am disappointed that there does not seem to be an appetite in the parliament for more transparency in terms of private school reporting. I think it is important to note that private schools currently receive $290 million in state government funding each year.

Pembroke, for instance, receives $1,236 per year per student from the state, in addition to $5,340 per year from the commonwealth. Each year Sacred Heart College, one of the state's most elite schools, receives over $10,000 per student in combined state and commonwealth funding. The funding received by Blackfriars Priory School each year for each student is even higher. It receives over $13,000 per student. In fact many catholic schools receive over $1,400 per student. This is a significant amount of public funding. Indeed, six independent and 15 catholic schools received more combined federal and state funds in 2019 than the lowest funded government schools, according to the Sunday Mail.

The ABC reported that in 2019 in Sheidow Park their primary school was one of a thousand schools across Australia that spent $25,000 over a five-year period on new facilities while the richest private schools were spending roughly $100 million. These institutions are getting a lot of public money, and I do not think it is too much to ask, to say that if you are getting a large amount of public money, you need to be subject to transparency measures.

I know that a lot of the private schools will say they are already required to provide some of this information, but what my bill is seeking to do is provide all of this information in the annual report. What the bill would do is include the following information in those reports:

  • audited financial statements, including income from sources and expenditure on purposes;
  • attendance rates for each year level;
  • number of complaints made, including complaints about student behaviour;
  • workforce information, including staff qualifications;
  • the number of work health and safety, and student-related incidents;
  • fee structures; and
  • issues around discipline as well, and suspensions and expulsions.

That is really important because there has been a spate of scandals over the last six months engulfing some of our state's most elite private schools. The Advertiser has reported extensively on these scandals, and there is not transparency around how these matters are being handled. If this sort of behaviour occurred in a public school, the way in which the matter is being dealt with would be subject to an FOI request, and so that information could be publicly disclosed, but private schools remain at arm's length from that. That is a problem.

I have had a parent who has reached out to me who has sent their child to a private school who has had a less than satisfactory experience, and they have not been able to get any recourse from the government because, of course, the government does not control these schools. Well, if these private schools were required to report on how complaints were managed and the number of student incidents and complaints then this would provide further impetus to private schools to change their culture.

This is an issue I will continue to look at. It may be that I need to consider reforms of the FOI Act to ensure that some of the activities of private schools are brought under some level of public purview. I understand there has been significant resistance to this reform from some schools, but it seems to me to be a very sensible proposition.

I am encouraged to hear, however, that the government is open to having the conversation around how we improve transparency, and I look forward to engaging in those discussions. But watch this space, because I think members of the community are tired of our private schools, these elite institutions, being able to take huge amounts of public money and simply pull across the drapes and conceal the way in which they undertake their affairs.


Motion: Public School Funding

30 October 2024

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. R.A. Simms:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges the release of A decade of inequity report commissioned by the Australian Education Union which found:

(a) public schools in South Australia educate proportionally twice the number of students from low socio-educational advantage backgrounds compared to private schools and 3.5 times the number of First Nations students than private schools;

(b) under current settings, South Australian public schools will continue to be underfunded by the commonwealth and state governments by $1.8 billion over the next five years, while private schools will be overfunded by $79.7 million;

(c) every public school student in South Australia will be underfunded by $2,003 in 2024, rising to $2,259 in 2028; and

(d) on a per-student basis, every private school student in South Australia will receive $598 above their full School Resource Standard in combined state and commonwealth funding this year.

2. Calls on the federal government to increase their share to a minimum 25 per cent of the School Resource Standard funding to ensure South Australian public schools are fully funded.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (16:35): I thank honourable members for their contributions: the Hon. Mr Hunter, the Hon. Nicola Centofanti and the Hon. Ms Game. I want to also thank the education minister's office for alerting me to their amendments before this session. I understand there is some conjecture about the figures that are contained in the motion and on that basis I am happy to remove those figures and to support the government's amendments so that we can expedite this motion through this place.

In doing so, I also think this does potentially strengthen the arm of the government in their advocacy work. I recognise the work of the Minister for Education, the Hon. Blair Boyer, who I know is somebody who is very passionate about public school education and is taking up this fight over in Canberra. Hopefully, this motion strengthens his arm in those negotiations with his federal counterparts.

I briefly want to address the contribution made by the Leader of the Opposition, who has suggested that it is somehow offensive to imply that private schools are being overfunded. I think that is a gratuitous remark. I do not think there is anything offensive in the motion that I have put forward. In fact, I think most South Australians would find it offensive that we have public schools being neglected when it comes to government funding.

Public schools are by their very nature public; they are accessible to everybody in the community, not just the elite few. Access to public schools is not based on the size of your bank balance or what your mum and dad do. Everybody in our state has a right to access a public school and, as such, public schools should be funded accordingly. Public schools should set the benchmark in terms of quality education in our state, and they should be resourced as such. To suggest that it is offensive that a member of this place has suggested that public schools are getting a raw deal I think is a rather unusual contribution to the debate.

I make no apologies for fighting for public schools to get more resources. The Greens make no apologies for doing that. Rather than bending over backwards to curry favour from private schools, we need more members in this place to be advocating for public schools to get the funds they need. That is vitally important. The Greens make no apologies for that. I thank members for their support of the motion.

 

Amendments carried; motion as amended carried.


Question: Teachers

30 October 2021

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:39): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector on the topic of teachers' employment conditions.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: On Monday, the New South Wales government, rather than the Victorian government, reached an agreement with public school teachers to improve pay and conditions. The new deal involves a pay rise of 10 per cent over three years, with two extra pupil-free days per year. The teachers in New South Wales will receive cost-of-living bonuses and a right to disconnect after 3pm. It follows a pay increase last year to teachers in that state, which saw their salaries lift by between 8 to 12 per cent as part of the New South Wales Labor government's commitment to reinvest in the state's essential service workers.

In 2022, the University of South Australia released a report commissioned by the AEU's South Australian branch entitled 'Teachers at Breaking Point'. The report found that South Australian teachers work an average of over 50 hours per week, job satisfaction is as low as 52 per cent, and only 6.8 per cent of teachers feel that their views are valued by policymakers in South Australia. My questions to the Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, therefore, are:

1. Is the minister concerned that South Australian teachers will cross the border to New South Wales to get a better deal?

2. What is this government doing to improve teacher retention, particularly in the public school system?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:40): I thank the honourable member for his question. I look forward, when there is a public sector deal struck in any of the Eastern States, to getting a question very soon after from the honourable member. I think there was a question about nurses in Victoria, and today it's school teachers in New South Wales.

As I said in relation to his question before, I think there are many, many things that make us a destination that people want to live in and not leave. I think the days that you heard about people choosing to leave Adelaide and the jokes that you heard from other states are well and truly over. I think there are many, many reasons that people choose to come to and to stay in Adelaide.

In relation to teachers specifically, it was only in the last year (I think it was early this year) that we concluded negotiations for a new industrial agreement with teachers in South Australia that included as part of it—and I don't have the details in front of me—if I remember correctly, a right to disconnect, as the honourable member has pointed out, from the New South Wales agreement. Of course, those negotiations were not easy and they often aren't. The representatives of public sector workers, through their trade unions, negotiate fiercely for their workers' rights and conditions.

That EB was concluded. There are more EBs for public sector workers coming up over the next 18 months that we look forward to negotiating in good faith with public sector unions. It is something that is vastly different from the last government, who had things that they, in the government's view, wouldn't consider that manifested itself most profoundly in the negotiations between the former government and ambulance workers, who spent four years without getting a pay rise due to an EB, and the government took off the table any possibility of backpay.

I am very proud to be a part of a Labor government that, very early on in our term, concluded negotiations with the Ambulance Employees Association that included backpay for every year that the Marshall Lucas Liberal government didn't have that backpay.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:42): Supplementary: why is the Malinauskas Labor government lagging so far behind New South Wales and Victoria when it comes to paying our state's essential workers what they are worth?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:43): I thank the honourable member for his question. That is certainly not how I would characterise how we treat our public sector workers. Pay is one part of what is offered. There were other, in terms of the teachers, very important elements as part of that negotiation—the right to disconnect, but also a reduction in face-to-face teaching time to allow teachers to do all that other important work was part of what we did in South Australia as well.


Motion: Public School Funding

16 October 2024

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:58): I move:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges the release of A decade of inequity report commissioned by the Australian Education Union which found:

(a) public schools in South Australia educate proportionally twice the number of students from low socio-educational advantage backgrounds compared to private schools and 3.5 times the number of First Nations students than private schools;

(b) under current settings, South Australian public schools will continue to be underfunded by the commonwealth and state governments by $1.8 billion over the next five years, while private schools will be overfunded by $79.7 million;

(c) every public school student in South Australia will be underfunded by $2,003 in 2024, rising to $2,259 in 2028; and

(d) on a per-student basis, every private school student in South Australia will receive $598 above their full School Resource Standard in combined state and commonwealth funding this year.

2. Calls on the federal government to increase their share to a minimum 25 per cent of the School Resource Standard funding to ensure South Australian public schools are fully funded.

I think it is disgraceful that South Australian public schools are getting such a poor deal. The Greens have been calling this out not just in South Australia but also nationally. I note an article in yesterday's Australian from the private school lobby where they indicated that they will be campaigning against the Greens. Well, of course the private school lobby have an interest in the current funding regime because it operates to their benefit, but it is dudding South Australian public school students of their rightful entitlement and I think it is actually undermining one of the elements that is fundamental to our society and that is this idea that everybody should have a fair go and equal start in life. It is a fundamental thing here in Australia.

Everybody should have a right to free, high-quality education, no matter where they live, no matter what they earn, irrespective of their postcode. The Greens believe that a strong public education system is essential to building a fair, successful and cohesive society. Being able to send your children to a high-quality free public school is not a reality for many South Australians because they are being underfunded. Successive governments have refused to fully fund public schools, which results in overworked teachers, lacking infrastructure and increased out-of-pocket expenses.

Inequality takes many forms, and not being able to afford the materials and services charges or having a school that is not fully funded leads to intergenerational inequality and it makes it very difficult for people to be able to break that cycle. We see investing in our public schools as an investment in our economy, our culture and our society. For many years, the Greens have been campaigning to fully fund public schools. Public schools should be free and they should have enough resources that they need to improve teacher-to-student ratios and upgrade infrastructure and equipment as required.

One of the key issues that I am very passionate about and the Greens have been campaigning on here in this state is scrapping public school fees so that we ensure that public schools are actually genuinely free for parents. We think that is really important in the middle of this cost-of-living crisis. Both the federal government and the state government have a responsibility to fully fund our public schools. All public schools should have the full 100 per cent of the school resource standard, a measure that was defined by the Gonski report over 13 years ago, and yet still our schools are not seeing full funding under that model.

The recent report by the Australian Education Union, titled A Decade of Inequity, demonstrates the inequality between private and public schools, in particular the government funding provided to both types of schools per student. The report finds that in Australia public schools educate more students from low socio-educational advantage backgrounds compared to private schools. In particular, public schools educate double the number of First Nations students than private schools, and public schools educate a higher number of students who are linguistically diverse than private schools.

If we are serious about closing the gap for First Nations people, bringing about an end to poverty and reducing inequality, then we need to get serious about fully funding our public schools. It is ludicrous that we have governments in Canberra that are overfunding private school students while simultaneously underfunding our public school students. What is the point of having fully funded independent schools that have massive fees that are often beyond the reach of most South Australians when everybody else is being left behind? The AEU report highlights that it has been over a decade since the review of funding for schooling considered the state of school funding and found that, and I quote from that report:

The cost of this inequity is high, both for individuals who are failing to reach their potential, and for the nation as a whole.

The report highlights the key problem for South Australia: 94 private schools in our state receive greater funding from the commonwealth and state government combined than public schools of a similar size, while hundreds of private schools are funded above their level of need. The AEU provides some South Australian examples of the disparity between schools and the level of government funding.

I will take you through some of those examples because I think they are relevant to this argument. In northern Adelaide, Salisbury East High School receives $17,528 per student, while Tyndale Christian School receives $22,418 per student. If we move down south, Port Noarlunga Primary School receives $13,264 per student, while the local Catholic schools, St John the Apostle and All Saints, both receive over $16,000 per student. What is the rationale for this disparity? One is a public school that is accessible to everybody, and the other is a private school.

In the western suburbs, Seaton receives $17,679 per student, while Mount Carmel College receives $23,604. These numbers clearly demonstrate that something is going seriously wrong with our school funding model. It demonstrates the inequity in government funding. Of course, independent schools have the added benefit of being able to access fees and donations from parents and other sources.

We need to make sure the South Australian students are all given the best start in life, and access to high-quality, affordable education is one of the most important factors in that regard. I ask all members from all sides of politics to consider supporting this motion. It calls on the federal government to increase their funding to our public schools to the full 100 per cent of the school resource standard. Surely all South Australian students deserve that, irrespective of where they go to school.

 

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.


Question: Public School Funding

25 September 2024

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:07): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the minister representing the Minister for Education on the topic of public school funding.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: I understand that today Tasmania has secured an agreement with the commonwealth to fully fund their schools by 2029. Under the deal the federal government will lift its commitment to 22.5 per cent of the school resource standard, with the Tasmanian government committing to the remaining 77.5 per cent. Currently, the ACT is the only jurisdiction in Australia where public schools are fully funded. A report recently released by the Australian Education Union, titled A Decade of Inequality, demonstrated that private schools in South Australia are overfunded—overfunded—by $79.7 million each year, while public schools continue to languish without appropriate funding. My questions to the minister representing the Minister for Education are:

1. What action is the Malinauskas government taking to ensure that public schools are fully funded in our state?

2. Will the government seek to reach an appropriate agreement with the Albanese government in Canberra to ensure that South Australian schools get the funding they deserve?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:09): I know that the Minister for Education in another place works tirelessly day in, day out, to get the best deal for South Australian public schools, but I am happy to refer the questions to the minister in another place and have a reply brought back from him.

 

29 October 2024

In reply to the Hon. R.A. SIMMS (25 September 2024).

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector): The Minister for Education, Training and Skills has advised:

Full funding for every school is crucial to achieving a more equitable education system.

I have been actively advocating for the full funding of public schools since becoming the Minister for Education, having made a commitment in opposition to do so.

The Malinauskas Labor government is focused on ensuring the next school reform agreement will fund South Australian public schools at 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard.

Our government is committed to renegotiating the next school reform agreement to ensure all South Australian schools, including public schools, receive their full and fair funding levels.


Question: University Rankings

6 June 2024

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:00): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the minister representing the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science on the topic of university rankings.

Leave granted.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Simms, just before you start, I noted your apology to me for your state of undress, and I know that it's not going to be a habit that we are going to have to put up with.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: Thank you, Mr President. I have made a rod for my own back, being such a fashion plate in this chamber.

The PRESIDENT: Well, that's the problem, isn't it?

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: I acknowledge that. When you set the bar high, it's very hard. It was reported yesterday that UniSA's rankings have dropped in the latest QS World University Rankings from 340 down to 326, putting the university now below Flinders University, which is sitting at 336. Last year, the Joint Committee on the Establishment of Adelaide University heard evidence from the Hon. Chris Schacht, a former federal Labor minister, that there may be a dip in ratings for a few years for the new university. My question therefore to the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science is:

1. Is the government concerned about the potential for a future fall in ratings for the new Adelaide University?

2. In particular, are they concerned about the impact this may have on the capacity of the new university to recruit international students?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:01): I thank the honourable member for his question. I will be happy to pass it along to the Deputy Premier in another place and bring back a reply.

 

27 August 2024

In reply to the Hon. R.A. SIMMS (6 June 2024).

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector): The Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science has advised:

The South Australian government is not concerned about any potential fall in ratings for the new Adelaide University. There might be a small diminution while the reputation of the university is built which has been accounted for in their planning.

The new Adelaide University will be a member of the Group of Eight universities which brings with it a foundation of strong academic reputation and other key contributors to maintain a top 100 university position in the rankings as stated in their strategic ambition. Being a Group of Eight university will make Adelaide University very appealing to international students.


Question: Misogynistic behaviour in schools

2 May 2024

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:09): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the minister representing the Minister for Education on the topic of behaviour in schools.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: An ongoing study by the University of Adelaide has to date found that misogynistic language and behaviour by male school students in Adelaide is heightened and that male students are working in groups to physically intimidate their female teachers and peers. An article published in The Conversation written by a senior lecturer from the University of Adelaide, Samantha Schulz, includes quotes from teachers. One teacher says:

Boys are increasingly using misogynistic language towards female students and teachers, telling them to 'make me a sandwich'.

Another teacher stated:

I find it disconcerting that by the age of 14 or 15, they [the boys] know how to use their presence to menace...if they are behaving like this with me, what are they like with young women their own age or the women in their families?

Last weekend, thousands of people across the country attended rallies against gendered violence and last night, silent vigils were held in memory of the victims of domestic violence. Samantha Schulz's article in The Conversation draws a link between the increase in misogynistic behaviour in schools and the problem of domestic violence. The article calls for a policy of identifying, reporting and responding to gendered violence, abuse and harassment.

My question to the minister representing the Minister for Education is: is the government concerned about the increase of misogynistic language and misogynistic behaviour in schools and what are the government's policies to address this issue?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:11): I am happy to pass on the substance of that question about what programs and efforts there are within our education system, but I might just add that from my point of view, and I know the member for Wright, the Hon. Blair Boyer, the education minister, shares very strongly the view that that type of behaviour, that type of language not just has no place in our schools but has no place anywhere.

As I think men all around Australia are increasingly appreciating, it is not just the behaviours but it is the attitudes of men that drastically need to change to make our society a safer place for women and girls. Some of the things that people have walked past or even tolerated in the past were not acceptable then, and they are certainly not acceptable now, and in all aspects, including our education system, we all, particularly men, have a responsibility to call out such behaviours.

 

In reply to the Hon. R.A. SIMMS (2 May 2024).

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector):

The Minister for Education, Training and Skills has advised:

Misogynistic language and behaviour has no place in our society and is particularly concerning when occurring amongst young people in schools. All staff and students have the right to feel safe and respected in schools – and addressing this behaviour is a priority of our government.

What occurs in schools is often a reflection of our broader society which is why this government has established the Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence and the legal examination into banning children's access to social media where misogynistic content, harassment and cyberbullying are a significant concern.

Increased reports of misogynistic language and behaviour in schools, and the rise of influencers such as Andrew Tate is of concern to the government, and that is why we're taking strong action to end this toxic behaviour and challenge the impact of influencers who target young people.

Within schools a focus is being taken on explicitly teaching students about consent and respectful relationships through curriculum, initiatives for building safe and supportive learning environments, managing the risks of online safety and emerging technologies, as well as responding appropriately where behaviours of concern have occurred.

The Australian government Consent and Respectful Relationships Education (CRRE) election commitment is providing $77.6 million over five years from 2023-24 to 2027-28 to states, territories and the non-government school sector.

Funding has been committed to the SA Department for Education for the five-year period of $4 million to support the delivery of age-appropriate, evidence-informed CRRE across government primary and secondary schools in 2024-28.

The Minister for Education, Training and Skills has directed that this funding be used to address the scourge of misogyny and sexism. Schools will be supported to implement a whole-school approach to gender equality and tackling misogyny and sexism. Professional development and resources will be provided to support schools.

This measure will build on current respectful relationships education in schools through the Australian curriculum and the department's Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (KS:CPC). The KS:CPC is currently being updated to strengthen child safety and respectful relationships content that address issues such as gender-based violence, gender inequality, misogyny, coercive control, deepfakes and online abuse. The KS:CPC is mandated in all department sites for children and young people from age 3 to year 12 and requires teachers to complete a full day training before delivering to children.

The recent release of the Safe and Supportive Learning Environments Plan of Action is focused on 15 actions for building school cultures that are inclusive and respectful for all, supported by strong leadership and enhanced by school, family and community partnerships. This includes investment of up to $3.1 million over two years to research a new school based approach to support the mental health and wellbeing of primary school students.

Preschools and schools are also involved in whole-of-school strategies to embed practices that focus on building respectful relationships, setting behaviour expectations and self-regulation. This includes a Positive Behaviour for Learning framework being rolled out in 40 schools and 161 preschools and schools currently undertaking whole-of-school training and implementation on universal trauma-informed practice strategies.

In terms of risks associated with online environments the rollout of a ban of mobile phones in schools that became compulsory from term 3, 2023 has already shown a decrease in incidents involving students. A review of the department's guidelines on Responding to Online Safety Incidents in South Australian Schools will also include consideration of the impact of artificial intelligence such as the emergence of 'deepfake' images.

Where misogynistic behaviours of concern do occur in school or online environments these are addressed through a range of departmental policy and guidance, including:

  • a behaviour support policy on how staff support safe and positive behaviour in children and young people at department sites. It requires staff to:
  • explicitly teach children and young people about safe and inclusive behaviours and behaviour expectations
  • model and promote behaviour that values diversity, demonstrates respect for and inclusion of all children and young people, and promotes a positive school climate; and
  • report behaviours of a criminal nature to police.
  • a sexual behaviour in children and young people procedure that assists school staff to identify and respond to concerning and harmful sexual behaviour, including misogynistic behaviour. Examples provided in the procedure include:
  • degrading or humiliating others using sexual themes
  • sexually intimidating behaviour
  • bullying involving sexual aggression; and
  • simulation of sexual activities.
  • the aforementioned responding to online safety incidents in South Australian schools guideline, which includes advice on how schools may respond, including engagement with the eSafety commissioner and potentially referring matters to the police.

In addition to managing incidents and behaviours of concern, a focus on restorative practices is also taken where appropriate to prevent repeated behaviour and seek to ensure a deeper understanding and repair relationships. This has included the funding of face-to-face training for schools and a soon to be released online learning module for educators.

The department's generative AI chatbot, EdChat, currently undergoing a targeted trial in 16 South Australian public schools, recently introduced an image generation feature. This feature, designed with robust safeguards, converts text to visuals for educational use while preventing and monitoring the creation of inappropriate or offensive content, including misogynistic imagery. It aligns with the department's commitment to safe and supportive educational environments, with ongoing oversight to ensure its proper use. This new feature has created a new opportunity for teachers to educate their students about the harm of malicious deepfakes, in the context of using EdChat's image generation for teaching and learning.

The government takes this issue incredibly seriously, and will continue to make the investments needed to end sexism, misogyny and violence in schools and preschools.


Education and Children's Services (Reporting Requirements) Amendment Bill

7 February 2024

EDUCATION AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES (REPORTING REQUIREMENTS) AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction and First Reading

 

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (16:32): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Education and Children's Services Act 2019. Read a first time.

 

Second Reading

 

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (16:33): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This bill, the Education and Children's Services (Reporting Requirements) Amendment Bill 2024, is an important transparency measure. It seeks to promote equality and accountability between public and private schools, and it subjects our private schools to the same reporting requirements as public schools.

Private schools currently receive $290 million of state government funding here in South Australia—$290 million of state government funding—but unlike public schools there is no requirement for private schools to report on how that money is being spent. Public money is just that: it belongs to the community, and it is only right that private schools that receive public funds are required to report on how public money is spent. This is the demand that is made of our public schools and it is only appropriate that the same demand be made of private educators.

Many private schools receive significant public funds and the public has a right to know how the money is being spent. I am going to use some examples in this speech, and I do not do so to attack or denigrate those institutions. I am more just highlighting some of the inequities that exist within our school system. I want to start with an example from Pembroke, which is currently the most expensive school in the state to send your child to.

We know from publicly available data that Pembroke receives $1,236 per year per student from the state, in addition to $5,340 per year from the commonwealth. Meanwhile, I understand that Pembroke has fundraised more than $6 million for building project, and the school charges $31,000 fees for a year 12 student to attend their institution. Conversely, we have public schools in our state that are crying out for basic infrastructure and resources.

In 2019, the ABC reported on the differences between the poorest and richest schools in Australia. At that time, they reported that Sheidow Park Primary School was one of a thousand schools across Australia that spent $25,000 over a five-year period on new facilities, while the richest private schools were spending roughly $100 million—$25,000 being spent over five years on new facilities in a public primary school, while the richest private schools were spending roughly $100 million. Something is not right there.

I had the opportunity the year before last to visit my old school, Aberfoyle Park High School and, whilst it has had some significant upgrades, it was disappointing to me to see that much of the school remained unchanged from when I was there. That was not very long ago, of course, but not much had changed in such a short window of time. It is disappointing and more money should be put on the table to support our public schools.

The My School website shows data on where schools are getting their funds and demonstrates capital expenditure, but the public are not getting clear information on where their funds are being spent. We cannot see, for example, whether or not public money is being used by private schools to support advertising activities, whether public money is being used to support luxury facilities such as swimming pools, or on courting donors.

Taxpayers have a right to know what activities they are subsidising. Is public money being used to support advertising campaigns by private schools? Is public money being used to employ fundraisers within our private schools? Many South Australians, I think, would question whether that is a legitimate use of public money.

Professor Piccoli, who was previously the director of the University of New South Wales' Gonski Institute for Education, and also a New South Wales education minister, has stated that:

The public do have a right to know where public money is going and why…and until we know that in any kind of detail, you can't be confident that they're not using it for capital [expenditure].

In December last year, the Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System Report was published. The report discusses the need for greater funding transparency and accountability. On page 20, it states:

The Panel heard from stakeholders about a desire for greater transparency and accountability, including from families and communities seeking more access to information on the allocation and the use of school funding.

Recommendation 6A from that report was:

Approved Authorities improve transparency by annually publishing their school funding allocation models, actual allocations, and more information on what the funds get spent on.

This bill will address that recommendation by improving expenditure transparency and requiring private schools to publicly release their income and expenditure as part of their annual report.

Public schools are already required to report more than just expenditure. This bill would ensure that private schools are subject to the same reporting requirements. Public schools, for instance, are already required to disclose information on student behaviour, including data on suspensions, exclusions, expulsions, and all of that information is uploaded to the Data.SA website.

All we are proposing is that our state's private schools be required to do the same and that this information be reported in their annual reports. This means that the information is available to the whole community, including parents, many of whom are spending a lot of money to send their children to these schools. I would argue that they also have a right to that information.

The bill will also require private schools to be transparent about the number of complaints that are being made, to provide workforce information, such as the number of casual, contract and permanent staff and the proportion of teaching staff versus non-teaching staff, as well as the number of work health and safety incidents that occur at a school. Again, that is really important information, I think, for parents.

The data would be captured in the school's annual report, which is then made available on their website. This would give parents a holistic picture when making a choice about schools, but would also ensure that there is the same level of transparency applying to both our public and our private schools, because both are getting public money.

There is a transitional provision in the bill that ensures that this would only apply to a full financial year after commencement. That would give private schools an opportunity to collate the information and adjust some of their reporting requirements. The United Nations global education monitoring report on accountability in education back in 2017 found that:

Far stricter regulation of private sector involvement is needed to ensure that profitability does not trump equity and quality.

While public schools are underfunded and non-government schools are being handed public money, it is important that we hold the private sector to the same scrutiny as public schools. This would ensure that we have clear data and that it is publicly available for parents, funding authorities and the community as a whole to understand the private education sector.

The Greens believe that when we are talking about public money there should be a maximum level of transparency and accountability. This is a simple reform, but one that I think would be welcomed by parents who send their children to private schools and also by the South Australian taxpayer more broadly, as the taxpayer collectively has an interest in how their money is being spent.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.E. Hanson.


Motion: World Teachers' Day

30 November 2023

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (17:08): I rise also to support the motion on behalf of the Greens and want to start by thanking the Hon. Reggie Martin for putting this forward and giving this chamber an opportunity to recognise the important role that teachers play in our society.

As has been observed by the Hon. Jing Lee, World Teachers' Day is held annually on 5 October, but it is observed here in South Australia on 27 October. It is held annually around the globe, and I quote from the UNESCO website:

It commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers, and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions. The Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel was adopted in 1997 to complement the 1966 Recommendation by covering teaching personnel in higher education. World Teachers’ Day has been celebrated since 1994.

UNESCO goes on to note that the day is a time to:

…celebrate how teachers are transforming education but also to reflect on the support they need to fully deploy their talent and vocation, and to rethink the way ahead for the profession globally.

I think we all had cause to reflect on the important role that teachers play in our society during the pandemic, when parents were forced to teach their children at home—or work with teachers, rather, in supporting them in the home environment. From the discussions I have had with many of my friends who had kids at home during the pandemic, I know how challenging that was, and the appreciation that that gave them for the remarkable work that teachers do and the vital role that they play in our society.

Given we are talking about the important role of teachers, I do want to use this opportunity also to urge the government to resolve the dispute with teachers. It is concerning that we have seen such significant underinvestment in the public education sector in our state over many years. I recognise that is not just a fault of this government; it has been a long-term challenge, and there has not been appropriate investment in public education from governments of either persuasion over the years. It is something I really urge the Malinauskas government to remedy.

I understand the Australian Education Union has revised its position for a salary increase of 8.64 per cent up-front and a 5.4 per cent increase in the following two years, down to 6 per cent in the first year followed by 5 per cent in the second year and 4 per cent in the third year. This would represent an increase of 15 per cent over three years, and would take SA educators from Australia's lowest paid to a level closer to the national midpoint. They are also requesting additional resources be made available to their schools so that they can better support students.

I urge the government to find a solution here. I know the Minister for Education, the Hon. Blair Boyer, is someone who is really passionate about education. In my dealings with him I have found him to be someone who really wants to deliver good outcomes for education in our state, but I really do urge the government to pay teachers what they are worth and to ensure that our public schools are appropriately resourced so that they can meet the needs of students, parents and our communities. With that, I conclude my remarks and indicate that the Greens will be supporting the motion.