ACT Greens Member for Brindabella Johnathan Davis MLA was pleased to support a motion from the Canberra Liberals in the ACT Legislative Assembly today calling on the ACT Government to prepare and publish a detailed and comprehensive analysis of staffing challenges in ACT Public Schools.
“Australia is in the midst of a teacher shortage crisis. All states and territories, across all year groups and in both the government and non-government school systems continue to struggle to recruit and retain teachers” Mr Davis said.
“The ACT is the first and only sub-national Government in the country to establish a ‘Teacher Shortage Taskforce’ in response to advocacy from the Australian Education Union ACT Branch. This is a great first step, however it is so important that the taskforce be provided with detailed and comprehensive data to inform their work.
“This data must include the total number of full-time teachers required to meet current and future needs, the current number of full-time teachers in the system, advice on how many teachers have left the system and how many teachers have been recently recruited.
“Subsequently, the Assembly must then be able to see the same data to help inform its work. The motion calls on the ACT Government to provide this data by the first sitting in 2023.
“In speaking to the motion, I took the opportunity to congratulate the incoming Federal Education Minister Jason Clare MP on his appointment. I look forward to the new Federal Labor Government addressing the concerns raised by the Australian Education Union’s ‘Every School, Every Child’ campaign which I was pleased to support throughout the Federal Election campaign.
“I thank the Canberra Liberals Education Spokesperson for this important motion. While rare, it’s always encouraging when the Assembly can come together and agree.
“In my inaugural speech I said “I will be a voice for every public-school student, every public-school educator and every parent who makes the choice to send their child to a great ACT Public School. My vision is for a public-school system that is the envy of the world and the choice of every Canberra family.”. I recommit myself to that today.
