❓ Mr. Woodhams questions the adequacy of country teacher allowances given the high cost of living and teacher shortages. Mr. McGowan acknowledges the issue, highlights existing allowances, and refers to upcoming enterprise bargaining negotiations, stopping short of a commitment to specific increases.
AnsweredQoN 399Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
COUNTRY TEACHER ALLOWANCES
A recent survey undertaken by the State School Teachers’ Union of WA showed that district allowances paid to regional and rural teachers fall far short of the actual cost of living in rural areas. In light of the chronic teacher shortage in regional Western Australia, I ask - (1) Does the minister accept that country teachers simply cannot afford to live and work in regional Western Australia on the wages and allowances they are being paid by the Department of Education and Training? (2) Will the Department of Education and Training commit to increasing district allowances to regional and rural teachers by the start of the 2008 school year? Mr M. McGOWAN
A recent survey undertaken by the State School Teachers’ Union of WA showed that district allowances paid to regional and rural teachers fall far short of the actual cost of living in rural areas. In light of the chronic teacher shortage in regional Western Australia, I ask - (1) Does the minister accept that country teachers simply cannot afford to live and work in regional Western Australia on the wages and allowances they are being paid by the Department of Education and Training? (2) Will the Department of Education and Training commit to increasing district allowances to regional and rural teachers by the start of the 2008 school year? Mr M. McGOWAN
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(2) I thank the member for Greenough for his question. I am aware that a survey is being undertaken around Western Australia by members of the public school teaching profession. They have been going to some of the local shops in different communities and buying bags of groceries to compare the cost of those groceries with the cost of those from other communities. In fact, I was at Meekatharra High School last week, where I met some of the teachers. I pay tribute to those teachers; they are excellent people who are doing a very good job in difficult circumstances at Meekatharra District High School. They were undertaking that survey themselves. They told me that the cost of living there is quite high, and I believe them. The cost of living obviously differs from community to community throughout the state. Some communities are more expensive than others. Usually, in communities closer to Perth the cost of living is cheaper than it is in communities that are further away. The Department of Education and Training offers different grades of allowances to teachers to go to different locations. What grade they are paid depends on where they go and the relative difficulty of the location. For instance, teachers in remote Aboriginal community teaching schools, of which there are around 46, are paid around an extra $15 000 a year, just as a remote teaching allowance. Teachers in what is called the country teaching service, which perhaps covers the more distant and difficult schools, receive, from memory, an allowance of $8 500 a year. We will enter into an enterprise bargaining agreement negotiation process with the State School Teachers’ Union of Western Australia later this year. I have put on the public record a number of times that this government supports paying public sector workers well. The government must operate within the boundaries of responsible financial management. My focus is on making sure that we reward teachers who go to difficult locations and do difficult jobs. That is my priority and when I go into negotiations, that is what I will keep in mind. I suspect that my answer is broadly in agreement with the general proposition the member put forward. He is asking me for specifics, but I will not go into specifics because the government will undertake a negotiation process with the union later this year.
(1) Does the minister accept that country teachers simply cannot afford to live and work in regional Western Australia on the wages and allowances they are being paid by the Department of Education and Training? (2) Will the Department of Education and Training commit to increasing district allowances to regional and rural teachers by the start of the 2008 school year? Mr M. McGOWAN replied: (1)-(2) I thank the member for Greenough for his question. I am aware that a survey is being undertaken around Western Australia by members of the public school teaching profession. They have been going to some of the local shops in different communities and buying bags of groceries to compare the cost of those groceries with the cost of those from other communities. In fact, I was at Meekatharra High School last week, where I met some of the teachers. I pay tribute to those teachers; they are excellent people who are doing a very good job in difficult circumstances at Meekatharra District High School. They were undertaking that survey themselves. They told me that the cost of living there is quite high, and I believe them. The cost of living obviously differs from community to community throughout the state. Some communities are more expensive than others. Usually, in communities closer to Perth the cost of living is cheaper than it is in communities that are further away. The Department of Education and Training offers different grades of allowances to teachers to go to different locations. What grade they are paid depends on where they go and the relative difficulty of the location. For instance, teachers in remote Aboriginal community teaching schools, of which there are around 46, are paid around an extra $15 000 a year, just as a remote teaching allowance. Teachers in what is called the country teaching service, which perhaps covers the more distant and difficult schools, receive, from memory, an allowance of $8 500 a year. We will enter into an enterprise bargaining agreement negotiation process with the State School Teachers’ Union of Western Australia later this year. I have put on the public record a number of times that this government supports paying public sector workers well. The government must operate within the boundaries of responsible financial management. My focus is on making sure that we reward teachers who go to difficult locations and do difficult jobs. That is my priority and when I go into negotiations, that is what I will keep in mind. I suspect that my answer is broadly in agreement with the general proposition the member put forward. He is asking me for specifics, but I will not go into specifics because the government will undertake a negotiation process with the union later this year.
(2) Will the Department of Education and Training commit to increasing district allowances to regional and rural teachers by the start of the 2008 school year? Mr M. McGOWAN replied: (1)-(2) I thank the member for Greenough for his question. I am aware that a survey is being undertaken around Western Australia by members of the public school teaching profession. They have been going to some of the local shops in different communities and buying bags of groceries to compare the cost of those groceries with the cost of those from other communities. In fact, I was at Meekatharra High School last week, where I met some of the teachers. I pay tribute to those teachers; they are excellent people who are doing a very good job in difficult circumstances at Meekatharra District High School. They were undertaking that survey themselves. They told me that the cost of living there is quite high, and I believe them. The cost of living obviously differs from community to community throughout the state. Some communities are more expensive than others. Usually, in communities closer to Perth the cost of living is cheaper than it is in communities that are further away. The Department of Education and Training offers different grades of allowances to teachers to go to different locations. What grade they are paid depends on where they go and the relative difficulty of the location. For instance, teachers in remote Aboriginal community teaching schools, of which there are around 46, are paid around an extra $15 000 a year, just as a remote teaching allowance. Teachers in what is called the country teaching service, which perhaps covers the more distant and difficult schools, receive, from memory, an allowance of $8 500 a year. We will enter into an enterprise bargaining agreement negotiation process with the State School Teachers’ Union of Western Australia later this year. I have put on the public record a number of times that this government supports paying public sector workers well. The government must operate within the boundaries of responsible financial management. My focus is on making sure that we reward teachers who go to difficult locations and do difficult jobs. That is my priority and when I go into negotiations, that is what I will keep in mind. I suspect that my answer is broadly in agreement with the general proposition the member put forward. He is asking me for specifics, but I will not go into specifics because the government will undertake a negotiation process with the union later this year.
Mr M. McGOWAN replied: (1)-(2) I thank the member for Greenough for his question. I am aware that a survey is being undertaken around Western Australia by members of the public school teaching profession. They have been going to some of the local shops in different communities and buying bags of groceries to compare the cost of those groceries with the cost of those from other communities. In fact, I was at Meekatharra High School last week, where I met some of the teachers. I pay tribute to those teachers; they are excellent people who are doing a very good job in difficult circumstances at Meekatharra District High School. They were undertaking that survey themselves. They told me that the cost of living there is quite high, and I believe them. The cost of living obviously differs from community to community throughout the state. Some communities are more expensive than others. Usually, in communities closer to Perth the cost of living is cheaper than it is in communities that are further away. The Department of Education and Training offers different grades of allowances to teachers to go to different locations. What grade they are paid depends on where they go and the relative difficulty of the location. For instance, teachers in remote Aboriginal community teaching schools, of which there are around 46, are paid around an extra $15 000 a year, just as a remote teaching allowance. Teachers in what is called the country teaching service, which perhaps covers the more distant and difficult schools, receive, from memory, an allowance of $8 500 a year. We will enter into an enterprise bargaining agreement negotiation process with the State School Teachers’ Union of Western Australia later this year. I have put on the public record a number of times that this government supports paying public sector workers well. The government must operate within the boundaries of responsible financial management. My focus is on making sure that we reward teachers who go to difficult locations and do difficult jobs. That is my priority and when I go into negotiations, that is what I will keep in mind. I suspect that my answer is broadly in agreement with the general proposition the member put forward. He is asking me for specifics, but I will not go into specifics because the government will undertake a negotiation process with the union later this year.
(1)-(2) I thank the member for Greenough for his question. I am aware that a survey is being undertaken around Western Australia by members of the public school teaching profession. They have been going to some of the local shops in different communities and buying bags of groceries to compare the cost of those groceries with the cost of those from other communities. In fact, I was at Meekatharra High School last week, where I met some of the teachers. I pay tribute to those teachers; they are excellent people who are doing a very good job in difficult circumstances at Meekatharra District High School. They were undertaking that survey themselves. They told me that the cost of living there is quite high, and I believe them. The cost of living obviously differs from community to community throughout the state. Some communities are more expensive than others. Usually, in communities closer to Perth the cost of living is cheaper than it is in communities that are further away. The Department of Education and Training offers different grades of allowances to teachers to go to different locations. What grade they are paid depends on where they go and the relative difficulty of the location. For instance, teachers in remote Aboriginal community teaching schools, of which there are around 46, are paid around an extra $15 000 a year, just as a remote teaching allowance. Teachers in what is called the country teaching service, which perhaps covers the more distant and difficult schools, receive, from memory, an allowance of $8 500 a year. We will enter into an enterprise bargaining agreement negotiation process with the State School Teachers’ Union of Western Australia later this year. I have put on the public record a number of times that this government supports paying public sector workers well. The government must operate within the boundaries of responsible financial management. My focus is on making sure that we reward teachers who go to difficult locations and do difficult jobs. That is my priority and when I go into negotiations, that is what I will keep in mind. I suspect that my answer is broadly in agreement with the general proposition the member put forward. He is asking me for specifics, but I will not go into specifics because the government will undertake a negotiation process with the union later this year.
I suspect that my answer is broadly in agreement with the general proposition the member put forward. He is asking me for specifics, but I will not go into specifics because the government will undertake a negotiation process with the union later this year.
(1) Does the minister accept that country teachers simply cannot afford to live and work in regional Western Australia on the wages and allowances they are being paid by the Department of Education and Training? (2) Will the Department of Education and Training commit to increasing district allowances to regional and rural teachers by the start of the 2008 school year? Mr M. McGOWAN replied: (1)-(2) I thank the member for Greenough for his question. I am aware that a survey is being undertaken around Western Australia by members of the public school teaching profession. They have been going to some of the local shops in different communities and buying bags of groceries to compare the cost of those groceries with the cost of those from other communities. In fact, I was at Meekatharra High School last week, where I met some of the teachers. I pay tribute to those teachers; they are excellent people who are doing a very good job in difficult circumstances at Meekatharra District High School. They were undertaking that survey themselves. They told me that the cost of living there is quite high, and I believe them. The cost of living obviously differs from community to community throughout the state. Some communities are more expensive than others. Usually, in communities closer to Perth the cost of living is cheaper than it is in communities that are further away. The Department of Education and Training offers different grades of allowances to teachers to go to different locations. What grade they are paid depends on where they go and the relative difficulty of the location. For instance, teachers in remote Aboriginal community teaching schools, of which there are around 46, are paid around an extra $15 000 a year, just as a remote teaching allowance. Teachers in what is called the country teaching service, which perhaps covers the more distant and difficult schools, receive, from memory, an allowance of $8 500 a year. We will enter into an enterprise bargaining agreement negotiation process with the State School Teachers’ Union of Western Australia later this year. I have put on the public record a number of times that this government supports paying public sector workers well. The government must operate within the boundaries of responsible financial management. My focus is on making sure that we reward teachers who go to difficult locations and do difficult jobs. That is my priority and when I go into negotiations, that is what I will keep in mind. I suspect that my answer is broadly in agreement with the general proposition the member put forward. He is asking me for specifics, but I will not go into specifics because the government will undertake a negotiation process with the union later this year.
(2) Will the Department of Education and Training commit to increasing district allowances to regional and rural teachers by the start of the 2008 school year? Mr M. McGOWAN replied: (1)-(2) I thank the member for Greenough for his question. I am aware that a survey is being undertaken around Western Australia by members of the public school teaching profession. They have been going to some of the local shops in different communities and buying bags of groceries to compare the cost of those groceries with the cost of those from other communities. In fact, I was at Meekatharra High School last week, where I met some of the teachers. I pay tribute to those teachers; they are excellent people who are doing a very good job in difficult circumstances at Meekatharra District High School. They were undertaking that survey themselves. They told me that the cost of living there is quite high, and I believe them. The cost of living obviously differs from community to community throughout the state. Some communities are more expensive than others. Usually, in communities closer to Perth the cost of living is cheaper than it is in communities that are further away. The Department of Education and Training offers different grades of allowances to teachers to go to different locations. What grade they are paid depends on where they go and the relative difficulty of the location. For instance, teachers in remote Aboriginal community teaching schools, of which there are around 46, are paid around an extra $15 000 a year, just as a remote teaching allowance. Teachers in what is called the country teaching service, which perhaps covers the more distant and difficult schools, receive, from memory, an allowance of $8 500 a year. We will enter into an enterprise bargaining agreement negotiation process with the State School Teachers’ Union of Western Australia later this year. I have put on the public record a number of times that this government supports paying public sector workers well. The government must operate within the boundaries of responsible financial management. My focus is on making sure that we reward teachers who go to difficult locations and do difficult jobs. That is my priority and when I go into negotiations, that is what I will keep in mind. I suspect that my answer is broadly in agreement with the general proposition the member put forward. He is asking me for specifics, but I will not go into specifics because the government will undertake a negotiation process with the union later this year.
Mr M. McGOWAN replied: (1)-(2) I thank the member for Greenough for his question. I am aware that a survey is being undertaken around Western Australia by members of the public school teaching profession. They have been going to some of the local shops in different communities and buying bags of groceries to compare the cost of those groceries with the cost of those from other communities. In fact, I was at Meekatharra High School last week, where I met some of the teachers. I pay tribute to those teachers; they are excellent people who are doing a very good job in difficult circumstances at Meekatharra District High School. They were undertaking that survey themselves. They told me that the cost of living there is quite high, and I believe them. The cost of living obviously differs from community to community throughout the state. Some communities are more expensive than others. Usually, in communities closer to Perth the cost of living is cheaper than it is in communities that are further away. The Department of Education and Training offers different grades of allowances to teachers to go to different locations. What grade they are paid depends on where they go and the relative difficulty of the location. For instance, teachers in remote Aboriginal community teaching schools, of which there are around 46, are paid around an extra $15 000 a year, just as a remote teaching allowance. Teachers in what is called the country teaching service, which perhaps covers the more distant and difficult schools, receive, from memory, an allowance of $8 500 a year. We will enter into an enterprise bargaining agreement negotiation process with the State School Teachers’ Union of Western Australia later this year. I have put on the public record a number of times that this government supports paying public sector workers well. The government must operate within the boundaries of responsible financial management. My focus is on making sure that we reward teachers who go to difficult locations and do difficult jobs. That is my priority and when I go into negotiations, that is what I will keep in mind. I suspect that my answer is broadly in agreement with the general proposition the member put forward. He is asking me for specifics, but I will not go into specifics because the government will undertake a negotiation process with the union later this year.
(1)-(2) I thank the member for Greenough for his question. I am aware that a survey is being undertaken around Western Australia by members of the public school teaching profession. They have been going to some of the local shops in different communities and buying bags of groceries to compare the cost of those groceries with the cost of those from other communities. In fact, I was at Meekatharra High School last week, where I met some of the teachers. I pay tribute to those teachers; they are excellent people who are doing a very good job in difficult circumstances at Meekatharra District High School. They were undertaking that survey themselves. They told me that the cost of living there is quite high, and I believe them. The cost of living obviously differs from community to community throughout the state. Some communities are more expensive than others. Usually, in communities closer to Perth the cost of living is cheaper than it is in communities that are further away. The Department of Education and Training offers different grades of allowances to teachers to go to different locations. What grade they are paid depends on where they go and the relative difficulty of the location. For instance, teachers in remote Aboriginal community teaching schools, of which there are around 46, are paid around an extra $15 000 a year, just as a remote teaching allowance. Teachers in what is called the country teaching service, which perhaps covers the more distant and difficult schools, receive, from memory, an allowance of $8 500 a year. We will enter into an enterprise bargaining agreement negotiation process with the State School Teachers’ Union of Western Australia later this year. I have put on the public record a number of times that this government supports paying public sector workers well. The government must operate within the boundaries of responsible financial management. My focus is on making sure that we reward teachers who go to difficult locations and do difficult jobs. That is my priority and when I go into negotiations, that is what I will keep in mind. I suspect that my answer is broadly in agreement with the general proposition the member put forward. He is asking me for specifics, but I will not go into specifics because the government will undertake a negotiation process with the union later this year.
I suspect that my answer is broadly in agreement with the general proposition the member put forward. He is asking me for specifics, but I will not go into specifics because the government will undertake a negotiation process with the union later this year.
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