❓ Mr. Staltari questions the Minister for Education on violence in schools and its impact on education quality. The Minister responds by highlighting the importance of relationships in education and the Better and Fairer Schools agreement, urging the Shadow Minister to secure funding commitment from the federal opposition.
AnsweredQoN 17Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Education—Violence in schools
17. Mr Liam Staltari to the Minister for Education :
I have a
supplementary question. I thank the minister for her answer, although I note, and
I am sure she would agree, that a child in hospital is not a cheap headline; it
is a tragedy.
Given that we also
see record levels of violence in schools, not isolated incidents, does the
minister concede that this does not simply affect the safety of students and
staff, but also, ultimately, the quality of education they receive?
17. Mr Liam Staltari to the Minister for Education :
I have a
supplementary question. I thank the minister for her answer, although I note, and
I am sure she would agree, that a child in hospital is not a cheap headline; it
is a tragedy.
Given that we also
see record levels of violence in schools, not isolated incidents, does the
minister concede that this does not simply affect the safety of students and
staff, but also, ultimately, the quality of education they receive?
AnswerView source ↗
I was a
schoolteacher for 27 years before coming into this place, so I do not need
anyone on the opposite side to tell me what the influences are of successful
education in a classroom. I do not need you to do that. Given your
inexperience, I am happy to tutor you a little bit about what is important in
schools. What I do know, as a previous teacher, is that the best educational
outcomes I ever achieved—there are some other chalkies in the room—with
any student was when I had a strong relationship between student, parents and
teacher. That is absolutely critically important. Likewise, that relationship
extends to schools. Schools that are thriving schools are ones where they build
those relationships with their parent communities and their student
populations. Likewise, as the Minister for Education
overseeing the Department of Education, those same principles will apply to all
I do; that is, giving comfort to parents that we have a world-class education
system and backing teachers to make sure that they have the best possible
environment to do what they do best, and backing our leadership.
In closing, I come
back to the Better and Fairer Schools agreement, because it is actually
critically important and I want to highlight it at this point. There is $1.6 billion
in funding committed to between the Albanese and state governments. It is
critically important, because that funding is specifically tied to the very
things we need to further invest in in our schools to drive down disruptive
behaviour—the very things that Erin, Mason's mum, told me about that
schools need more support with. Schools need support to make sure that the
wellbeing of students and teachers is supported and this is directly linked to
the Better and Fairer Schools funding agreement. They need targeted, intensive
support for small groups as part of the Better and Fairer Schools funding
agreement, and also greater support for learning and engagement, including
counsellors, psychs and health nurses.
I ask the shadow Minister
for Education: it is really important that you take action, given that there is
a federal election around the corner. I urge you as shadow education minister
to leave this chamber at three o'clock, after question time, and quickly write
a letter to the Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, to gain his reassurance
that under a coalition federal government, that money will be safe so that we
can do this important work.
schoolteacher for 27 years before coming into this place, so I do not need
anyone on the opposite side to tell me what the influences are of successful
education in a classroom. I do not need you to do that. Given your
inexperience, I am happy to tutor you a little bit about what is important in
schools. What I do know, as a previous teacher, is that the best educational
outcomes I ever achieved—there are some other chalkies in the room—with
any student was when I had a strong relationship between student, parents and
teacher. That is absolutely critically important. Likewise, that relationship
extends to schools. Schools that are thriving schools are ones where they build
those relationships with their parent communities and their student
populations. Likewise, as the Minister for Education
overseeing the Department of Education, those same principles will apply to all
I do; that is, giving comfort to parents that we have a world-class education
system and backing teachers to make sure that they have the best possible
environment to do what they do best, and backing our leadership.
In closing, I come
back to the Better and Fairer Schools agreement, because it is actually
critically important and I want to highlight it at this point. There is $1.6 billion
in funding committed to between the Albanese and state governments. It is
critically important, because that funding is specifically tied to the very
things we need to further invest in in our schools to drive down disruptive
behaviour—the very things that Erin, Mason's mum, told me about that
schools need more support with. Schools need support to make sure that the
wellbeing of students and teachers is supported and this is directly linked to
the Better and Fairer Schools funding agreement. They need targeted, intensive
support for small groups as part of the Better and Fairer Schools funding
agreement, and also greater support for learning and engagement, including
counsellors, psychs and health nurses.
I ask the shadow Minister
for Education: it is really important that you take action, given that there is
a federal election around the corner. I urge you as shadow education minister
to leave this chamber at three o'clock, after question time, and quickly write
a letter to the Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, to gain his reassurance
that under a coalition federal government, that money will be safe so that we
can do this important work.
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.