Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation

Call Number
Nef 331.8809944 EDU
Created/Published
Sydney : The Federation, 1919-2021
Issue
Vol. 39 No. 5 (30 Apr 1958)
Images
8
View Catalogue

Contents

Education PAST PRESENT FUTURE Journal of the N.S.W. Teachers’ Federation 1
A.T.F.’s 130,000 PETITION PRESENTED Case for Aid Now Before Federal House 1 , 2
PLEA FOR EARLIER PAYMENT OF TEACHERS’ TAX REFUNDS 1
WITHOUT FEDERAL ASSISTANCE POSITION WILL BE CHAOTIC 2
MR. MENZIES' PROMISES IN 1946 2
STATE GOVERNMENTS ARE FACED WITH IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION 2
AUSTRALIAN PEOPLE REALISING IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION 2
CONDITIONS CONTRIBUTING TO JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 2 , 3
PEOPLE LOOKING FOR POSITIVE LEAD ON EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS 3
DR. EVATT: 'I DO NOT SEE ANY WAY IN WHICH THE COMMONWEALTH CAN ESCAPE RESPONSIBILITY FOR EDUCATION" 3
EXPENSES INCURRED IN ATTENDING TEACHERS’ EXAMINATIONS 3
Australian Education’s Starvation and Canberra’s Responsibility This Is the Present Situation: 3
Nation-wide Conference Will Seek Remedy 3
SCHOOL COUNSELLING IN THE COUNTRY 3
Education JOURNAL OF THE N.S.W. TEACHERS' FEDERATION 4
A PETITION, A NATIONWIDE CONFERENCE AND AN ELECTION ISSUE 4
Golden Opportunities To Press Home Need For Federal Aid 4
A Note by the Editor 4
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION—WITH A NOTE ABOUT THE FILM 4
Terror Still Stalks At Little Rock 5
TRIBUTES TO TWO DEPARTED MEMBERS 5
ASIAN EDUCATIONISTS AT FEDERATION HOUSE 5
Saga Of Australian Exploration 5
Teachers’ Stand On Education: Forthright Comments by Victorian Senator 5
Teacher-parent Co-operation: Members’ Assistance Sought 6
Salaries Negotiations: Council Decisions 6
Education Week, 1958 6
Recruitment: Federation Policy Vindicated 6
A LITTLE MIX-UP AT THE DEPARTMENT! 6
DEPUTY HEADMASTERS’ ASSOCIATION 6
Further News About the Teachers’ Club 6
TEACHER’S TRAGIC DEATH: A CALL FOR ASSISTANCE 6
School Uniforms 7
NATURE PROTECTION BUSHWALKING CLUB 7
Opinion 7
STAFFING PROBLEM IN SCIENCE TEACHING 7
STEWART HOUSE MEWS 7
GOULD LEAGUE OF BIRD LOVERS 7
Advertising 7
Federation Health Society: Notice to Members 7
Advertising 8

Text

Education  

PAST PRESENT FUTURE  

Journal of the N.S.W. Teachers’ Federation  

Registered at the General Poet Office, Sydney, for transmission by port as newspaper.  

Vol. 39.—N0. 5.  

APRIL 30, 1958  

Price: Threepence.  

A.T.F.’s 130,000 PETITION PRESENTED  

Case for Aid Now Before Federal House  

The Australian Teachers'  

Federation's petition to the  

Commonwealth Pari iam  

seeking Federal aid for educa-  

tion was received by Dr. H. V.  

Evatt, Leader of the Opposi-  

tion, in his rooms at the  

Commonwealth Bank Building,  

Martin Place, Sydney, on April  

10. More than 130,000 people  

in the various States signed  

the petition, which asks for  

"immediate action to ensure  

that sufficient funds are avail-  

able to each State to provide  

adequate public education  

facilities for its children and  

people."  

The petition states that;  

• Public education needs  

throughout Australia are criti-  

cally urgent;  

• The States are not able to  

cope with the provision of ade-  

quate education facilities for  

rapidly-increasing school enrol-  

ments;  

• One major factor in the  

crisis is the impact of the Com-  

monwealth Government’s migra-  

tion policy;  

• This desperate situation  

calls for generous assistance and  

co-operation by the Common-  

wealth Government;  

• The Commonwealth Gov-  

ernment should make grants to  

the States of sufficient magnitude  

to enable the States to meet in  

full their education require-  

ments.  

N.S.W. Asked to Present  

Petition  

The petition was decided on by  

the 1957 A.T.F. Annual Conference  

which declared that relief of the  

critical state of education through-  

out Australia “must be the direct  

responsibility of the Commonwealth  

Government in that one major fac-  

tor in the crisis is the impact of its  

migration policy.”  

The 1958 A.T.F. Conference ask-  

ed the N.S.W. Teachers’ Federation  

to arrange for the submission of the  

petition to the Federal Parliament.  

The Federation asked the Prime  

Minister to receive it. However, Mr.  

Menzies declined, and Dr. Evatt was  

then asked.  

With Dr. Evatt when he received  

the petition were Senator Ashley,  

Senator Amour, Mr. D. J. Curtin,  

Mr. F. E. Stewart, Mr. E. J. Harri-  

son and Mr. D. Minogue, M.H.Rs.  

Federation representatives were  

Mr. D. A. Taylor, President, N.S.W.  

Teachers’ Federation and Vice-Presi-  

dent, Australian Teachers’ Federa-  

tion; Mr. W. D. Dobell, Secretary,  

Australian Teachers’ Federation; and  

the following members of the N.S.W.  

Teachers’ Federation: Mr. S. P. Lewis,  

Deputy President, Miss E. W. Mat-  

tick, Senior Vice-President, Mr. H.  

S. Norington, General Secretary, Mr.  

R. D. Thomas, Vice-President, Mr.  

I. G. Lancaster, Deputy Assistant  

General Secretary.  

130, 000 Signatures;  

12 Volumes  

The 130,000 signatures to the peti-  

tion were bound in 12 volumes  

which were wheeled from Federation  

House down Martin Place in trol-  

ley.  

Dr. Evatt, in receiving the peti-  

tion, said there was no doubt there  

was crisis in education.  

The Murray report simply dealt  

with that at one end of the scale.  

It must be obvious that they could  

not make great improvements at  

that end unless the foundations in  

the primary and secondary courses  

in all the States were firm and well  

built. He could not see any way in  

which the Commonwealth could  

escape responsibility in connection  

with education.  

“It is national question and not  

merely to be treated as question  

for the States,” Dr. Evatt said.  

Federal Parliament'  

Asked to Act  

Mr. Taylor, in asking Dr. Evatt  

to receive the petition, said the peti-  

The petition was received by  

the House of Representatives on  

April 23. It is expected that it  

will be debated in the House  

during the first week in May.  

tion asked that the Federal Parlia-  

ment take immediate action to en-  

sure that sufficient funds were avail-  

able to each State to provide ade-  

quate public education facilities for  

the children and people.  

“Since the war,” Mr. Taylor said,  

“the States of the Commonwealth  

have had to make as much provision  

again in building, in supply of teach-  

ers and equipment, as was done in  

the previous 160 years. They have  

had to do as much in the years since  

the war as was done in the previous  

160 years, for the school enrolments  

have doubled and at this particular  

stage the position has reached  

crisis because the increased school  

population is being felt at the sec-  

ondary l^vel.  

“In this State alone, within the  

next three years there will be 32,000  

additional secondary children, and  

when you think of 32,000 secondary  

children in terms of buildings and  

schools and teachers and equipment,  

that is an enormous task that has  

been set the Government of this  

State. want to say to you people,  

belonging to party that has al-  

ways been very interested in educa-  

tion (and some of you know just  

what our public school system has  

achieved in this State), that stan-  

dards are going to. fall as result  

because at the secondary level we  

have not the buildings, we have not  

the teachers. There is dilution of  

our high school staff that must ulti-  

mately result in the falling of stan-  

dards. We have not the teachers col-  

leges to train teachers. Our own Min-  

ister for Education promised two  

additional Teachers’ Colleges months  

ago —nothing has been done and  

nothing will be done because there  

are no funds.  

Conditions Are Nation-wide  

“This position is common through-  

out Australia and in some States it  

could be worse. Do you realise that  

in four of the mainland States the  

school leaving age is still only 14,  

with thousands of children still leav-  

ing school at 14? The only reason  

given at conference in Western  

Australia recently by the Director of  

Education of that State was that they  

could not afford to raise the age. In  

Victoria last year seven thousand  

children left school at 14 —turned out  

into highly complex society where  

training is essential before their edu-  

cation potential could have even  

been assessed.”  

Dr. Evatt: “New South Wales and  

Tasmania are the exceptions?”  

Mr. Taylor: “Yes, and the reason is  

that they cannot provide the teach-  

ers and funds.  

“Then again, in two other States  

there is no kindergarten education  

—Queensland and Western Austra-  

lia. Recently the Commonweath  

Government had the Murray Report  

tabled, and if the Murray Report is  

read critically with any knowledge  

of the educational set-up in this  

country, it is as much criticism of  

primary and secondary education as  

of tertiary education.”  

Dr. Evatt: “Yes, that is correct.  

The huge gap that was already exist-  

ing would be increased by the im-  

plementation of this report. We fav-  

our the broad principles of it but  

are aware that primary and second-  

ary education is going to be faced  

with decreased standards because of  

it and that the question has to be  

considered as whole.”  

(Continued next page)  

DR. EVATT RECEIVES THE PETITION. From left to right: Mr. H. S. Norington, General Secretary; Miss  

E. W. Mattick, Senior Vice-President; Mr. W. D. Dobell, Secretary, Australian Teachers’ Federation; Mr. D. A.  

Taylor, President; Senator Ashley; Mr. D. J. Curtin, M. H.R.; Dr. Evatt; Senator Amour; Mr. D. Minogue,  

M.H.R.; Mr. E. J. Harrison, M.H.R.  

PLEA FOR EARLIER  

PAYMENT OF TEACHERS’  

TAX REFUNDS  

request that teachers’ taxation  

refunds be expedited was submitted  

last month to the Deputy Commis-  

sioner of Taxation.  

In forwarding the request the General  

Secretary said the Education Department was  

unable to issue group certificates in time  

for teachers to make early lodgment of  

returns. Therefore, through no fault of  

their own, they were compelled to lodge  

late returns and wait many months before  

receiving their refunds.  

“In view of these facts the Federation  

would be grateful if you would give favour-  

able consideration to adopting special  

measures to see that teachers’ taxation  

returns are dealt with as soon as possible  

after receipt,” Mr. Norington said.  

“As their returns will probably all be  

received about the same time, there should  

be little difficulty in sorting them out for  

expeditious handling by the taxation  

officers.”  

The Deputy Commissioner of Taxation,  

however, replies: “It is not practicable to  

accede to the request, as the Taxation  

Department’s program involves the issue of  

approximately 1,000,000 refunds each year  

within the shortest possible time.”  

Cite

Citation options:
Work identifier

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-646955239

APA citation

N.S.W. Teachers' Federation & New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. (1919). Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation Retrieved May 31, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-646955239

MLA citation

N.S.W. Teachers' Federation and New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation Sydney: The Federation, 1919. Web. 31 May 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-646955239>

Harvard/Australian citation

N.S.W. Teachers' Federation & New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. 1919, Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation The Federation, Sydney viewed 31 May 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-646955239

Wikipedia citation

{{Citation
  | author1=N.S.W. Teachers' Federation.
  | author2=New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation.
  | title=Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation.
  | year=1919
  | section=volumes.
  | issn=0013-1156
  | issue=Vol. 39 No. 5 (30 Apr 1958)
  | location=Sydney
  | publisher=The Federation
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-646955239
  | id=nla.obj-646955239
  | access-date=31 May 2025
  | via=Trove
}}

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