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. 79 No. 16 (7 Dec 1998)
Images
28
View Catalogue

Contents

EDUCATION JOURNAL OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES TEACHERS FEDERATION 1
Forum resolves gag directive 1
Commitment needed on independent IR system Comment 1
Members support industrial action at Sky Channel 1
Teachers as agile as coppers? 2
Private school, 2
Officers 2
Executive 2
NEWS Registration bill improved 3
Child protection laws amended 3
Switch over subscriptions to the NSW Teachers credit union 4
Advertising 4
Our Fed Reps 4
Consider your Super changes 5
Teacher-librarian campaign kit launched 5
Concern for new suspension procedures 5
Advertising 5
Seek travel reimbursement through award entitlement 6
Qualified teacher shortage looming 6
Advertising 6
Mt Druitt defamation case to proceed 6
Integration enrolment should be questioned 7
Casual teachers should lodge income support claims now 7
Advertising 7
In BRIEF 8
Pre-school policy developments 8
Calls for change to Anti-Discrimination Act 8
The sandwich generation 9
Keeping us safe and healthy 9
Advertising 9
The President Writes Debate brings results 10
LETTERS to the Editor 10
A question of credibility 10
Fellow slaves, arise! 10
Assessment issues 11
Visual Arts and equity in the new HSC 11
The burden of proof 11
The law and intangibles 11
Women want May 11
Union shows its short-sightedness 11
Who’s to blame 11 , 12
COMMENT Can the Minister please explain? 12
Poor conditions in Singapore 12
It wasn’t Gough 12
Proper response to improper conduct 12
ADMINISTRATION 1999 Election to fill casual vacancy of Administrative Officer Assistant General Secretary (Post School Education) 13
Duty statement 13
Federation representatives on Board Curriculum Committees 13
The year in EDUCATION 14 , 15
VIEWS Postcard from the Middle East A learning experience 16
Retired Teachers Association 16
Isolated women surveyed 17
Honour every life, value every life 17
Advertising 17
Forests and jobs both winners 18
POETRY Mr Dreyfus is Stood Down 18
Ad-junked 18
Perfected man 18
Summer 18
Advertising 19 , 20
REVIEWS books The Red Inn celebrates 21
Cheap WINE May the Holy Trinity be with you all this festive season 21
Advertising 21
Up, Up and Away Scaffold to heaven 22
Computer Corner Stocking fillers 22
Website Super sites 22
Film Paris,families and occasional coarse acting 23
Advertising 23
Theatre Seasons of Love... and flying 24
Advertising 24
Postcards from a first-year-out Mr Yen's World 25
Advertising 25 , 26 , 27
DT SMITH 27
SHOE 27
THOSE WHO CAN’T 27
INSIDE 28
On the move 28
Open and shut 28

Text

EDUCATION  

JOURNAL OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES TEACHERS FEDERATION  

Agreement No. PP255003 00104  

Vol. 79 No. 16 December 7, 1998  

Forum resolves gag directive  

by Kerri Carr  

Education Minister John Aquilina was  

happy for teachers to disregard  

Departmental memorandum that ordered  

them not to write directly to elected politi-  

cians about education and school issues, he  

told the Western Sydney Education Forum  

on November 23.  

His announcement followed question  

from teacher Kim Cochrane:  

“Will you withdraw that memo or won’t  

you?”  

Teachers were angered by the  

Memorandum to Principals from Deputy  

Director-General Operations Dr Terry  

Burke: “Correct procedures for submis-  

Teachers let the politicians know what they  

want for public education.  

sions from schools” (dated September 18)  

which they felt breeched the most democ-  

ratic principles of citizenship and raised  

questions about freedom of speech.  

The memorandum stated in part: “In  

recent times there has been small number  

of instances where principals and other  

departmental staff are writing directly to  

Members of Parliament on issues such as  

properties, staffing and school organisa-  

tion.  

“In some cases, when request has been  

rejected by the Department it is being re-  

channelled through Member of  

Parliament. Attempts such as these to cir-  

cumvent departmental procedures are inap-  

propriate.  

“As departmental employees, principals  

and other staff have responsibility to  

work through the established procedures.  

As is established protocol, it is expected  

that correspondence will be forwarded by  

the principal to the District Superintendent  

or relevant State Office Directorate.”  

Mr Aquilina said he thought the memo  

could have been better worded.  

“Also, make this point that had no  

knowledge of the memo going out,” he  

said.  

“Had it been put to me would not have  

sanctioned it.  

“When asked why it went out, the issue  

was raised with me that it was felt that ...  

some principals in particular were getting  

an advantage over others because they  

were shortcutting the system. Instead of the  

regular system they were going to their  

local members, and in number of cases  

Opposition members, and getting public  

pressure poured upon myself as Minister  

and the Department through their local  

members in order to jump over and above  

the priority rights of others within the  

Department.  

“As far as I’m concerned the memo  

really doesn’t have any effect one way or  

the other for me.  

“I’m quite happy to have the memo dis-  

regarded,” Mr Aquilina said.  

“What we don’t want to happen, as I’m  

sure none of you here would want to hap-  

pen, is for school that has particular ear  

with local MP or perhaps an MP with  

more clout than others to be able to use that  

vociferous member to jump priorities sim-  

ply by being more belligerent than perhaps  

elsewhere may be the case,” he said.  

“If you want to disregard the memo, go  

right ahead,” he added.  

Before question time Mr Aquilina and  

Shadow minister Stephen O’Doherty were  

given time to address the forum.  

The forum asked both the Government  

and Opposition to address long list of  

teachers’ concerns as priorities for the State  

election.  

Shadow minister Stephen O’Doherty and  

Education and Training Minister John  

Aquilina were guest speakers at the Western  

Sydney Education Forum.  

Organiser Angelo Gavrielatos gave  

some closing remarks.  

“The Minister said that we expect and  

deserve respect,” he said.  

“We will demand that respect because  

we certainly haven’t been shown such  

respect by successive governments over the  

last decade.”  

“I think that the Minister and Shadow  

Minister have test before them.  

“The test will be marked by the teachers  

of NSW.  

“The test will be this: the test will estab-  

lish exactly what it is that you and your par-  

ties will commit to in the form of the nec-  

essary additional resources, targeted appro-  

priately, to meet the demonstrable needs of  

students in western Sydney,” Mr  

Gavrielatos said.  

Commitment needed on  

independent IR system  

Comment  

by John Hennessy  

NSW has long history of strong  

industrial labour movement, inter-  

acting with strong industrial rela-  

tions system. The centrepiece of  

which is an industrial commission  

with the necessary powers to  

enforce labour laws, but with  

fundamental commitment to the  

resolution of disputes.  

Historically, penalties against  

either employers or workers have  

not been feature of that system.  

The Greiner and then the Fahey  

Governments, during their terms  

of office from 1988-95, introduced  

conservative agenda, which  

undermined the commission and  

placed an undue emphasis on  

penalties as method of imple-  

menting industrial policy. This  

clearly favoured the employers, as  

it was inevitably the workers and  

their unions that were penalised.  

This conservative anti-worker  

approach to industrial relations  

grew into the horrific industrial  

policies of the Kennett and Court  

Governments, which have seen  

thousands of workers lose their  

jobs and almost all workers in  

those states suffer penalties and  

the loss of conditions hard won  

over many years. Eight thousand  

teachers in Victoria alone have  

lost their jobs under these policies.  

Conservative state govern-  

ments, supported by the  

Howard/Reith political agenda  

have launched wave after wave of  

industrial legislation against work-  

ers in an attempt to enforce eco-  

nomic rationalism, which is sim-  

ply shorthand for worse condi-  

tions, longer hours and lower  

wages. In NSW since 1996, under  

the leadership of the Minister for  

Industrial Relations and the  

Attorney General, Geoff Shaw,  

the Labor Government has  

restored the industrial relations  

system and totally re-written the  

Industrial Arbitration Act with the  

full support of both the employers  

and the unions. At the same time,  

they have strengthened the occu-  

pational health and safety provi-  

sions and made the workers com-  

pensation system both effective  

and viable.  

The contrast between the two  

philosophies has historically been  

very clear. The future is in doubt  

unless we can get clear guarantees  

from the parties in this upcoming  

State election about their policies  

on industrial matters. The under-  

taking must be one that guarantees  

existing working conditions and  

makes commitment to improve-  

ments.  

The basic commitment must be  

to the right of trade and industrial  

unions, like Federation to continue  

to exist and fully represent their  

members in an independent indus-  

trial relations system. Members  

are asked to seek this commitment  

from all parties and candidates.  

Federation will formally seek such  

commitment.  

John Hennessy  

is the General  

Secretary.  

Members support  

industrial action  

at Sky Channel  

Kerri Car  

Federation members attending Sky  

Channel meetings around the state  

have given overwhelming support  

for further political and industrial  

action should the political parties  

fail to provide satisfactory policy  

commitments in writing by the end  

of the school holidays.  

With votes from most venues  

counted, 14,680 were in favour of  

the recommendation regarding  

securing the future of the teaching  

profession and quality public edu-  

cation. There were 215 votes  

against and 56 absentions.  

Federation has put the political  

parlies on notice that it requires  

detailed written response by  

January 22, 1999, to the  

Federation’s priority demands,  

given the State election will be held  

on March 27.  

This response will be consid-  

ered at an extraordinary meeting of  

Monday January 25. 1999.'  

Teachers have endorsed the fol-  

lowing if insufficient progress has  

been made:  

• 24 hour strike/rally with  

appropriate Sky Channel link  

ups on Tuesday February 9,  

1999 (where further industrial  

action will be considered); and  

• professional ban on the imple-  

mentation of all new  

Department of Education and  

Training and Board of Studies  

policies/initiatives, including the  

implementation of changes to  

the HSC and School Certificate  

from 1999 (for the year 2000)  

from day 1, term 1, 1999;  

Teachers also resolved to insist that  

the industrial relations policies of  

the political parties not limit the  

Federation’s ability to ensure that  

the interests of public education  

and its teachers are protected and  

enhanced.  

Cite

Citation options:
Work identifier

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-665631127

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 June 14, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-665631127

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. 14 June 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-665631127>

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 14 June 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-665631127

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. 79 No. 16 (7 Dec 1998)
  | location=Sydney
  | publisher=The Federation
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-665631127
  | id=nla.obj-665631127
  | access-date=14 June 2025
  | via=Trove
}}

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