❓ Mr Rundle questions the Minister for Education about declining Indigenous student attendance and a reduction in education officer roles. The Minister acknowledges the concern but emphasizes parental responsibility and highlights existing initiatives, while also criticizing the opposition's record.
AnsweredQoN 33Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SCHOOLS
— ABORIGINAL STUDENTS — ATTENDANCE
33. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the recent WAtoday
article in which an Indigenous education officer revealed that Western Australian
public schools are not effectively engaging the families of Indigenous children
who are not going to school, and that fewer people are being employed to
directly address this issue.
(1) Is the minister concerned that there has been a 30
per cent drop in education officer roles in the past few years?
(2) What is the
minister going to do to improve Indigenous attendance rates, which last year dropped
to 54 per cent, 30 per cent lower than for their non-Indigenous peers?
— ABORIGINAL STUDENTS — ATTENDANCE
33. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the recent WAtoday
article in which an Indigenous education officer revealed that Western Australian
public schools are not effectively engaging the families of Indigenous children
who are not going to school, and that fewer people are being employed to
directly address this issue.
(1) Is the minister concerned that there has been a 30
per cent drop in education officer roles in the past few years?
(2) What is the
minister going to do to improve Indigenous attendance rates, which last year dropped
to 54 per cent, 30 per cent lower than for their non-Indigenous peers?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I am concerned if any student is not going to
school, wherever they come from or whatever their background . Number one
is that those kids should be going to school. The primary responsibility for
that rests with the parents and the communities they live in. The former
Minister for Education and Training often said that a school reflects its
community. Unfortunately, we sometimes have very hard communities where it is
hard to get students to school. I can tell the Deputy Leader of the Opposition
that many schools are innovative in this space. Derby District High School has
attendance officers—two or three—whose sole job is to try to
get students to school.
We made a commitment to increase the
number of Aboriginal and Islander education officers. We have provided funding for that. We are now looking at
career pathways for all people who work in the education system, including Aboriginal and Islander education
officers, to see whether that is a barrier or disincentive to people
remaining in the education system. I can tell the Deputy Leader of the
Opposition that his side of politics is the last side that should lecture this
side on how we should go about getting more students, from any background, into
the education system.
school, wherever they come from or whatever their background . Number one
is that those kids should be going to school. The primary responsibility for
that rests with the parents and the communities they live in. The former
Minister for Education and Training often said that a school reflects its
community. Unfortunately, we sometimes have very hard communities where it is
hard to get students to school. I can tell the Deputy Leader of the Opposition
that many schools are innovative in this space. Derby District High School has
attendance officers—two or three—whose sole job is to try to
get students to school.
We made a commitment to increase the
number of Aboriginal and Islander education officers. We have provided funding for that. We are now looking at
career pathways for all people who work in the education system, including Aboriginal and Islander education
officers, to see whether that is a barrier or disincentive to people
remaining in the education system. I can tell the Deputy Leader of the
Opposition that his side of politics is the last side that should lecture this
side on how we should go about getting more students, from any background, into
the education system.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.