❓ Mr. Staltari questions the Minister for Education about teacher resignations, citing survey data and departmental figures. The Minister acknowledges the importance of teachers and outlines government efforts to support them, including pay rises and workload reduction initiatives.
AnsweredQoN 221Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Housing—Planning reform
221. ������ Mr
Liam Staltari to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the state
school—
Mr Dave Kelly interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Bassendean, I am calling you
for the first time. Member for Carine, start again, please.
Mr Liam Staltari: Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question
is to the Minister for Education. I refer to the State School Teachers' Union
of WA's recent State of Our Schools Survey ,
which revealed that more than eight in 10 surveyed teachers had considered
quitting in the last four years, and data from the minister's department which
shows that the number of WA public school teachers resigning has doubled in
five years.
(1) Does the minister concede that these figures
validate the concerns from the sector about a looming mass exodus of teachers
and principals?
(2) How high will these figures have to climb
before the government finally takes real action to arrest this surge in teacher
resignations?
221. ������ Mr
Liam Staltari to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the state
school—
Mr Dave Kelly interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Bassendean, I am calling you
for the first time. Member for Carine, start again, please.
Mr Liam Staltari: Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question
is to the Minister for Education. I refer to the State School Teachers' Union
of WA's recent State of Our Schools Survey ,
which revealed that more than eight in 10 surveyed teachers had considered
quitting in the last four years, and data from the minister's department which
shows that the number of WA public school teachers resigning has doubled in
five years.
(1) Does the minister concede that these figures
validate the concerns from the sector about a looming mass exodus of teachers
and principals?
(2) How high will these figures have to climb
before the government finally takes real action to arrest this surge in teacher
resignations?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for Carine for the question. I could tell he was going to ask
a question because he has spent a fair bit of time wetting down his hair
for the opportunity to get up! You give yourself away! Do not do that, because
I know you are going to ask me a question! Unlike me—I am not focused
on that, so I am probably looking a bit scruffy! But I am glad I have the right
priorities.
As a schoolteacher for 27 years,
I know how important teachers are to getting quality outcomes for our kids. It
is without question my number one priority, so I welcome the opportunity for me
to talk in this place around the value that we as a government, and I as
minister, put on teachers and on making sure that we celebrate teachers in the
first instance, for the 500,000 teachers that are in our system at the moment,
who get up each and every day and are doing extraordinary things. I want to put
that on the record. Secondly, when it comes to the State School Teachers'
Union, I think I was a member of that union for longer than the member for Carine
has been rotating around the sun, so I do not need to be told about what the
key issues are for the State School Teachers' Union in terms of teacher supply.
Since I have become minister, I
have made it very clear that my priority is around making sure that we support
our teachers, and the best way we can do that is to build on the enterprise
bargaining agreement that was signed late last year, which recognised teachers
and gave them a much-needed 12% pay rise. But I can tell members, and all those
who know teachers, that it is about much, much more than the pay for teachers.
It is about recognition and it is about making sure that we reduce their
workload, and that is front and centre to the work that this government is
doing. In fact, early on Friday I announced a reset of the workforce intensification
task force, a key aspect that the State School Teachers' Union has been
lobbying for for a long time. It is within the EBA, and I am very proud to announce
that I have appointed Professor Colleen Hayward as the independent chair, to
ensure that our teachers can be reassured that this government has, as its
priority, the key issues that are facing teachers at the moment.
thank the member for Carine for the question. I could tell he was going to ask
a question because he has spent a fair bit of time wetting down his hair
for the opportunity to get up! You give yourself away! Do not do that, because
I know you are going to ask me a question! Unlike me—I am not focused
on that, so I am probably looking a bit scruffy! But I am glad I have the right
priorities.
As a schoolteacher for 27 years,
I know how important teachers are to getting quality outcomes for our kids. It
is without question my number one priority, so I welcome the opportunity for me
to talk in this place around the value that we as a government, and I as
minister, put on teachers and on making sure that we celebrate teachers in the
first instance, for the 500,000 teachers that are in our system at the moment,
who get up each and every day and are doing extraordinary things. I want to put
that on the record. Secondly, when it comes to the State School Teachers'
Union, I think I was a member of that union for longer than the member for Carine
has been rotating around the sun, so I do not need to be told about what the
key issues are for the State School Teachers' Union in terms of teacher supply.
Since I have become minister, I
have made it very clear that my priority is around making sure that we support
our teachers, and the best way we can do that is to build on the enterprise
bargaining agreement that was signed late last year, which recognised teachers
and gave them a much-needed 12% pay rise. But I can tell members, and all those
who know teachers, that it is about much, much more than the pay for teachers.
It is about recognition and it is about making sure that we reduce their
workload, and that is front and centre to the work that this government is
doing. In fact, early on Friday I announced a reset of the workforce intensification
task force, a key aspect that the State School Teachers' Union has been
lobbying for for a long time. It is within the EBA, and I am very proud to announce
that I have appointed Professor Colleen Hayward as the independent chair, to
ensure that our teachers can be reassured that this government has, as its
priority, the key issues that are facing teachers at the moment.
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.