Conservative vote — radical agenda

By Maree O’Halloran

The strengthened position of the Howard Government following the federal election, including potential control of the Senate, means that teachers cannot be "relaxed and comfortable" about the future.

Unlike the conservative face the Government turned to the electorate, its agenda is radical in the areas that affect teachers' working lives. For public education to be shaped as a "safety net" for those who have no other choice is far removed from the status quo and outside the Australian psyche. Similarly, the idea that individuals should be forced to bargain for a contract and performance pay from employers with inherently greater bargaining power is radical not conservative.

Federation believes in the pre-eminence of the public education system and the unique value of our universal, free and secular system. The Prime Minister, John Howard, does not.

Federation believes in an industrial relations system that recognises collective rights and the democratic right to strike. The Federal Government does not. Our union has a duty to continue to campaign against the policies of a government so overtly antagonistic to our values and our very existence.

In 2007 federal and state elections coincide. That coincidence provides us with an opportunity to establish a public education platform in the years ahead setting out what we require of each level of Government and their respective responsibilities.

Thank you to those members who campaigned hard to make public education a dominant issue in the 2004 federal election. Your work over a number of years resulted in a major divergence between the Coalition and the ALP on education. In this regard, the ALP was prepared to make redistribution of funds an issue (albeit within the private pool) and to invest all new money ($1.9 billion) into public education. The Greens took the strongest public education platform to the electorate and received a positive swing in their primary vote.

In the election wash up, one of the key issues for the Federation is to ensure that the ALP maintains or strengthens its public education position. Despite the re-writing of history by some radical commentators, education polled well for Labor. ACNielsen polling purchased by the Federation in the weekend before the election showed that 78 per cent of the 431 people polled considered public school funding to be an important issue when voting (52 per cent very important and 26 per cent somewhat important). 76 per cent considered TAFE funding to be important (46 per cent very important and 30 per cent somewhat important).

The ALP needed to release their major policies much earlier in the electoral cycle. At the very least the Catholic/Anglican hierarchy and other virulent lobbyists for wealthy private schools would have vented their spleen outside the election campaign proper.

The release by the Coalition of the extra capital works money was a recognition by the Government that the funding of public education had traction in the community. The policy splits the funding 70:30 in favour of public schools. This is in stark contrast to the Federal Government's recurrent funding model for 2005-8 whereby 73.7 per cent of direct federal government recurrent funding goes to the 32 per cent of students in private schools.

The proposed distribution method of the capital works money is wholly destructive. Each public school parent group is expected to bid for federal government money and then arrange tenders. Contrast this to the fact that the Catholic education system will receive its share of the capital works money a block grant for orderly distribution.

The Federal Government's proposal to establish 24 'Technical Schools' in competition with TAFE was one of its most profligate and it was the vanguard of its industrial relations agenda for teachers. In order to implement this proposal the Federal Government is prepared to spend almost 10-times as much money per student as the total average cost per student in TAFE; that is $20,444 per annum in Technical Schools versus $2,235 in TAFE.

The analysis of the Federal Government's election policy in this edition of Education shows that most of its educational and industrial relations changes for teachers will be driven by contingent funding. For example, direct federal funding will be tied to, among other things:

• publishing staff as well as student absentee rates
• providing school principals with at least the right of veto over staff appointments at their school.

Post election, a number of industrial relations changes have been mooted in the media. The most serious for teachers is the dismantling of the state industrial relations systems and the question of the right of teachers to strike. Federation is currently seeking legal advice about these issues.

In this regard the settlement between the Federation and the Department regarding the issue of contract employment for principals is timely in that it allows us to focus on the public education campaign, the staffing agreement and the next salaries campaign.

The announcement by the State Government that teachers would be eligible for low cost housing because they were essential workers on low incomes (defined as below $60,000) merely compounds the contempt that Government has shown teachers in the last three salaries negotiations. NSW private school teachers (non-Catholic) will from July 1, 2006 earn $72,480 at the top of the scale. This will be an important benchmark for Federation's next award due to begin from January 2006.

Finally, congratulations to the cleaners for their great victory. It is an indictment on the State Government that they were prepared to create such disharmony and damage in the media and the public about our schools.

Maree O'Halloran is the President.

Howard Government declares war on teacher unions

Coalition schools policies in detail

Get active to oppose war on TAFE system

Act changes won't introduce contracts

For further information

October 2004 contents