❓ Hon. Neil Thomson questions the accuracy of Aboriginal student attendance data from the Kimberley region, prompting a response from the Minister for Education and Training who denies providing false data and outlines actions taken.
AnsweredQoN 1169Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
SCHOOLS —
ABORIGINAL STUDENTS — ATTENDANCE
1169. Hon NEIL THOMSON to the Minister for Education and
Training:
I refer to the recent court case
involving Mr Burston, an officer from the Department of Education who works in
the Kimberley.
(1) Was the data
on school attendance for the Kimberley provided in answer to my parliamentary
question of 27 May 2021 accurate and correct; and —
(a) if not, why
not, and will the minister correct the record in Parliament?
(2) Noting the proceedings of the court, why has the
department provided the minister with false data on school attendance in
the past?
(3) Now that the
minister is aware of the practice of incorrect data being provided, will the
minister refer the matter to the Ombudsman and the Public Sector Commissioner
for independent review?
(4) Has the minister taken any other
action on this matter?
ABORIGINAL STUDENTS — ATTENDANCE
1169. Hon NEIL THOMSON to the Minister for Education and
Training:
I refer to the recent court case
involving Mr Burston, an officer from the Department of Education who works in
the Kimberley.
(1) Was the data
on school attendance for the Kimberley provided in answer to my parliamentary
question of 27 May 2021 accurate and correct; and —
(a) if not, why
not, and will the minister correct the record in Parliament?
(2) Noting the proceedings of the court, why has the
department provided the minister with false data on school attendance in
the past?
(3) Now that the
minister is aware of the practice of incorrect data being provided, will the
minister refer the matter to the Ombudsman and the Public Sector Commissioner
for independent review?
(4) Has the minister taken any other
action on this matter?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) Yes.
(a) Not applicable.
(2) I do not
accept the premise of the question. The data had not been quality assured by
the Department of Education's system and school performance
directorate.
(3) There is no ''practice of incorrect data
being provided''; there was an incident. The department is undertaking its own investigation into this matter. I will await the outcome of that
process before considering what further action may be required.
(4) Yes, I have spoken to the
director general and outlined my expectations.
some notice of the question.
(1) Yes.
(a) Not applicable.
(2) I do not
accept the premise of the question. The data had not been quality assured by
the Department of Education's system and school performance
directorate.
(3) There is no ''practice of incorrect data
being provided''; there was an incident. The department is undertaking its own investigation into this matter. I will await the outcome of that
process before considering what further action may be required.
(4) Yes, I have spoken to the
director general and outlined my expectations.
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