Media Release - Labor’s Hypocrisy on Cuts to Schools & Teachers Exposed by Secret Blue Print - 19 March 2011

media release by Barry O’Farrell  and Adrian Piccoli  

While Kristina Keneally was making false accusations about the NSW Liberals & Nationals, her Labor Government was implementing a secret blueprint for cuts in education, NSW Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell and Shadow Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said today.

The Sydney Morning Herald today reports that over $1 billion in cuts to schools have been targeted by the Keneally Labor Government.

“This secret report is radical but not surprising given NSW Labor has shut down at least 75 schools during its time in government,” Mr O’Farrell said.

“Kristina Keneally’s comments during her doomsday speech are now more despicable given the revelation it is her own Government that has drawn up secret plans to slash the number of schools and teachers in NSW.”

On 11 March, Kristina Keneally said:

“And be sure to read to your children as a good public education becomes a memory as our teachers join nurses on the unemployment queue.'’

Shadow Education Minister Adrian Piccoli confirmed the NSW Liberals & Nationals vehemently reject the report commissioned by the Keneally Labor Government.

“Labor’s blueprint for education cuts will not be part of a NSW Liberals & Nationals Government,” Mr Piccoli said.

“We utterly reject this disgraceful report and call on Kristina Keneally to explain why Labor was drawing up secret plans to cut schools and teachers across NSW.

“From closing schools in Blacktown and Parramatta when they were first elected in 1996, Labor has a history of shutting down schools.

“We have already announced that a NSW Liberals & Nationals Government will provide an additional 900 teachers for the Reading Recovery Program, which would be expanded to include both literacy and numeracy.

“Instead of shutting down schools as Labor plans to do, we will inject more than $60 million into school maintenance funding and restore local decision making to school communities in order to help fix the State's school facilities.

“Unlike Labor, the NSW Liberals & Nationals have the positive, practical plans to put more teachers in schools and improve schools whose facilities have crumbled under 16 years of Labor’s neglect.”