Policies > Education

A National Curriculum: We believe that getting an outstanding education is very important for every Australian. Our party supports a National Curriculum for all Australians school students.

One education minister: There is no need to have six state, two territory and one federal education minister. We only need one Federal minister of Education who gives the same guidance to the head of each Department of Education in each state and Territory.

This will lead to a consistency in school results being compared across the nation and University entry will be more streamline across the states and territories.

Teachers Pay: Teaching is one of the most important occupations for our nations future. Teachers impact the next generation like no other occupation and indirectly affect the future productivity growth of our next generation. Based on their importance in society, they should be paid accordingly. All public school teachers who have taught for ten years should be paid at least $100 000 per year. Teachers starting salary should be no less than $60 000 per year.

The problem with the current system is that the best experienced teachers have to become administrators in order to get paid more. The head teacher of a department and Deputy and Principal positions are jobs of administration and planning, not teaching. The best teachers should keep teaching and get paid a similar salary as the school principal who is no longer teaching classes.

Teachers pay is not to be based on students test (NAPLAN) results as teachers teach children with different abilities.

Community involvement: We should be tapping into the aging population as part of a new teachers aid program & providing a variety of generations in the class room so the students have a balanced understanding of life in general & history in particular. Workplaces by law should give everyone one day of 'school leave'.This occurs when people who have been asked by a school to visit their students and talk about a topic they are an expert in - they are granted up to one day or two part days per year to do this. Both the students and the adults who visit will benefit in this program. It can be trialled for three years.

Lifelong learning: Public schools should be available for adult education on certain evenings each week. Courses could include both theory and pracitical components. Schools are an untapped public resource that are only used about 30 hours a week. Hospitals are used 168 hours a week in comparison.

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