Premier Peter Gutwein needs to appoint a stand-alone Minister for Education today following the sudden exit of Sarah Courtney as the Tasmanian community faces the inevitability of COVID entering schools.
Shadow Education Minister Josh Willie said it was near impossible for Minister Jeremy Rockliff to continue acting across both the education and health portfolios at a critical time for teachers, students and families.
“What Tasmania has now with the exit of Ms Courtney is a rudderless system where there is no direction, no Ministerial accountability and no leadership at the same time we face one of the most difficult new school years in living memory,” Mr Willie said.
“Mr Gutwein knows that to ask Mr Rockliff to provide leadership across both health and education – two of the biggest and most important areas of government – is not achievable and not feasible.
“This cannot be sustained for an extended period of time until Mr Gutwein makes up his mind about who will take on the role of permanent Education Minister.
“Tasmania already has an under-performing education system, with a recent analysis of NAPLAN results showing 28.5 per cent of Year Nines can not read above the level expected to engage in the wider curriculum, 41.5 per cent could not express themselves in written form and 23.4 per cent were not numerate.
“Coupled with that, as we face the inevitability of COVID entering classrooms, its critical there is a dedicated Education Minister.
“With Ms Courtney missing in action for the past three weeks and then returning only to quit, there has been a clear lack of leadership.
“You need only to look at the fact that the Secretary of the Education Department has been penning pieces for the paper and answering questions on radio – something that would normally be the role of the Minister.
“This is a clear example that the Gutwein Government does not consider accountability and true leadership in the education portfolio a priority.”
Josh Willie MLC
Shadow Minister for Education and Early Years
