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. 82 No. 06 (11 Jun 2001)
Images
32
View Catalogue

Contents

EDUCATION JOURMAL OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES TEACHERS FEDERATION 1
Parents and teachers to review public education 1
Sky Channel launch June 13 at 9am 1
Fighting for fairness for women 1
Two Budgets 1
NEWS More to the Ramsey report than pre-service training 2
Inequity not purely gender based 2
Officers 2
Executive 2
Kemp’s Federal Budget spin not whole story 3
Library illustrates need for reconciliation 3
Della budges on compo after union action 4
Warning on student health care plans 4
Health Society gets highest rating 4
A feast of ideas 4
State Budget not quite the windfall the Government claims 5
1,2,3 you’re out 5
Signatures support end to wealthy school subsidies 5
Teachers not ‘on-call’ outside hours 5
FEATURE The dis-organisation of public education 6 , 7 , 8
What the Catholics told Patricia 7
Anyone for fairer funding? 7
Advertising 7
North-west teachers concerned about process 8
Interim green bans placed on schools 8
Relief negotiated for Certificate IV 9
Update your payroll contributions to Stewart House 9
Annual awards presentation 9
Advertising 9
No funding, no workload increase 10
Gazette reveals parochial selection 10
Federation policy on promotions 10
Advertising 11
Computers’ educational value questioned 12
Help fight homophobia in schools 12
Heterosexual questionnaire 12
Federation pursues pay equity 13
Vale Horric Ford 13
The President Writes No vision in State Budget 14
LETTERS to the Editor Keep up the support 14
Crawlers 14
Too harsh on Mr Aquilina? 15
Inclusive and exclusive 15
Putting a cap on withdrawal 15
Oppposed to privatisation 15
Play it smart 15
Experiencing a year7 to 10 school 15
Delegations work 17
Analysing English 17
Who’s a good sport 18
Serious planning 18
Ramsey streets behind teachers 19
Advertising 15 , 16 , 17
Carbon Copy Disturbing fund diversions 17
Ranking and filing 17
Don’t fund private choice 18
ADMINISTRATION Annual Conference delegate vacancies 18
Elections to be held at June Council 19
in BRIEF 19
Our Fed Reps 19
Welfare Q and A 19
RETIRED Retired Teachers Association 20
Advertising 20
We owe Warilla strikers plenty 21
Burma workers need your solidarity 21
Advertising 21 , 22
VIEWS Stopping wage erosion and poverty 23
Profit-before-people backlash 23
POEMS Winter 24
Economically Rationalist Snowfall 24
Advertising 24
Ramsey report gets it wrong 25
GOUN' UP THE COUNTRY Making the graduation 25
REVIEWS Theatre Belvoir’s Emma by a nose 26
Vendor beware 26
Up, Up and Away Bangkok old and new 27
cheap WINE Drinking for two weeks straight 27
FILM Shoot and be damned 28
Computer Corner Programs written by teachers, for teachers 28
Mr Yen's World Word checker for reports 29
Advertising 29 , 30 , 31
DT SMITH 31
Abecedarian 31
THOSE WHO CAN’T 31
INSIDE 32
Taking on the privates 32
Public education takes limelight 32

Text

EDUCATION  

JOURMAL OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES TEACHERS FEDERATION  

Agreement No. PP255003 00104  

Vol. 82 0.6 June 11, 2001  

Parents and teachers to review public education  

by Maree O’Halloran  

Parents and teachers have taken  

the initiative from Government by  

resolving to launch an independent  

review into the provision of public  

education.  

The review will be headed by  

Professor Tony Vinson from the Uni-  

versity of NSW. Professor Vinson  

has background in the develop-  

ment of social and public policy  

and strong commitment to public  

education and social justice.  

This review is well overdue. Suc-  

cessive state governments since  

1988 have been restructuring and  

reorganising the public education  

system with no apparent educational  

rationale and without any thorough  

research base. These restructures  

have affected primary and secondary  

schools as well as TAFE. The pro-  

posal in the inner city of Sydney and  

surrounding areas to close five high  

schools and three primary schools,  

essentially on the basis of property  

values, is the last and worst example  

of piecemeal restructuring. Private  

schools remain where there is no  

local public provision.  

Despite frequent calls from both  

parents and the teachers of NSW,  

the State Government has refused  

to suspend restructuring proposals  

and engage in state-wide review  

of the system. It is apparent that  

the Government has no intention of  

conducting such review. Instead,  

the piecemeal restructuring of our  

system appears to be strategy to  

force local communities to deal  

with public policy framework that  

results in the chronic under-funding  

of public education and the prolifera-  

tion of private schools.  

The last comprehensive review of  

secondary education only, the Wyn-  

dham Review, took place forty years  

ago over period of four years. The  

review resulted in the introduction  

of the comprehensive high school.  

Professor Vinson’s review will be  

launched on Wednesday June 13 to  

delegates’ meetings across the state  

linked by Sky Channel broadcast.  

The launch of the review will  

be supported by radio ads on 2WS,  

MMM and key regional stations in  

areas where restructuring is immi-  

nent such as Orange, Tweed River,  

Lismore and the Central Coast. Print  

ads will run in the Sun-Herald and  

community language papers.  

Undertaking this review is one  

of the biggest and most exciting  

projects that the Federation has  

proposed. It will involve Professor  

Vinson holding hearings at more  

than 30 venues across the state to  

take submissions about the provision  

of public education. The general  

terms of reference will be:  

1. What are the purposes and values  

of public education in society?  

2. What are the resources and struc-  

tures needed to achieve these pur-  

poses and values?  

Public education has, for more  

than 150 years, been the defining  

institution of Australian democracy  

and its unique values. Professor Vin-  

son’s independent review is about  

the future of public education. The  

system has proven ability to meet  

new challenges and changing times  

and the review will become part of  

the dynamic history of education.  

It will be underpinned by the key  

provision of the Education Act in  

NSW:  

“The principal responsibility of  

the State is the provision of public  

education.”  

In order to achieve what govern-  

ment has failed to do we must all be  

committed and united in support-  

ing the independent review headed  

by Professor Vinson. We have the  

real chance to change public policy  

debate about education in this state  

if we can involve the public.  

As of the date of the launch on  

June 13 the review will officially  

be the “Vinson Inquiry into the  

Provision of Public Education in  

NSW”.  

Maree O’Halloran  

is the Senior  

Vice President.  

Sky Channel launch June 13 at 9am  

The Vinson Inquiry will be launched to delegates’ meetings. Schools  

are asked to send up to three teachers, including the principal, and at  

least three parents.  

TAFE colleges are also urged to send delegates.  

These meetings are stopwork meetings of up to two hours. Teachers in  

workplaces are asked to contribute to any loss of salary for delegates.  

The launch has the support of the Federation of P&C Associations and  

of the Federation of School Community Organisations (FOSCO).  

Fighting for fairness for women  

by Kerri Carr  

The Women’s Electoral Lobby has  

awarded the NSW Teachers Fed-  

eration the Edna Ryan Award for  

improvements for women in the  

workforce sector.  

The award was granted because  

earlier this year 13 women teachers  

successfully claimed damages against  

the Department of Education and  

Training for unlawful discrimination  

on the ground of their sex. Federa-  

tion had granted the women legal  

assistance to support their claim.  

The teachers were, at the rele-  

vant time, casuals employed by the  

Department at schools for blocks of  

more than eight weeks. Their pay  

scale had been capped to the equiv-  

alent of step on the permanent  

scale.  

The Department of Education and  

Training has since appealed against  

the Administrative Decisions Tribunal  

decision.  

Seven of the 13 women attended  

Federation’s May Council meeting  

where three of the teachers reflected  

on their experience as casuals.  

Margaret Douglas said: “I started  

teaching in the early sixties when we  

were going for equal pay for equal  

work...and now at the end of my  

career want equal pay for equal  

work again so seem to have been  

on the merry-go-round for quite  

number of years.”  

Joyce Amery was permanently  

appointed to Cabramatta Infants in  

1975. In mid 1979 she resigned but  

after five years started to teach casu-  

ally at Chester Hill Intensive English  

Centre (lEC) and in 1990 started  

teaching at Kogarah Intensive English  

Centre.  

“On May 5,19921 made an appli-  

cation to break the incremental barrier  

based on pedagogical service, because  

I’d never left the school as casual,”  

Joyce said.  

“In December 1993 made an  

application for permanency because  

the Federation handbook says if  

you’ve been working in position for  

two years and it’s vacant position you  

have right to apply for permanency  

in that position.  

“As far as knew was being con-  

sidered for that position but found out  

later that position was being masked  

by the system and would not be made  

available.”  

In 1997 Joyce made reapplication  

for permanency at Kogarah.  

“We were told there was freeze on  

lECs so no matter what way turned  

there was no way was going to get  

into permanent position again.”  

Joyce described how she has felt:  

“Frustration, alienation.. .hopelessness,  

powerlessness, dehumanisation, your  

correspondence is ignored, you’ve got  

financial hardship because you’re in  

the 40 year old age bracket and you’re  

on 20 to 30 year old’s pay.”  

“The education department thinks  

that casual teachers who are working  

day after day in schools have left all  

their experience at home and it doesn’t  

come with them into whatever job  

they’re doing, but that’s not true,” she  

added.  

Marian Platt reapplied for perma-  

nency in 1987.  

“Despite two post-grad diplomas  

at my own expense. ..I still don’t have  

permanent job,” she said.  

“I think that when it comes to retire-  

ment age won’t have job to retire  

from.  

“I’m very, very depressed by the  

situation and it’s very, very humiliating  

and demeaning to know that despite  

being entitled to long service leave  

yes ...some section of it [the Depart-  

ment] recognises that I’m at step 13  

plus,... the salary section still pays me  

at step 9.”  

Does this apply to you?  

See page 13 for how to  

pursue the issue.  

Progressing the rights of casual women teachers: (clockwise from front left) Marian Platt, Jenny Drury,  

Joyce Amery, Karen Mors, Denise McHugh, Megan Pursche, Margaret Douglas.  

Two  

Budgets  

Dr David Kemp claimed “gov-  

ernment schools will get an esti-  

mated $238 million or 87 per  

cent of the funding for specific  

schools initiatives contained in  

this year’s Budget”. This was  

blatant attempt to draw attention  

away from the fact federal fund-  

ing to private schools is set to  

rise by 33.6 per cent by 2004/05  

while that to public schools rises  

by only 20.4 per cent over the  

same period.  

Of the $238 million, $143.5 mil-  

lion is the previously announced  

return of the funding collected  

under the enrolment benchmark  

adjustment (EBA) mechanism.  

At the state level, Treasurer  

Michael Egan claims to have  

increased education and training  

funding by 5.6 per cent over last  

year. Not quite. He has com-  

pared last year’s Budget allocation  

(which proved to be inaccurate in  

actual terms) against this year’s  

Budget allocation. But when you  

compare actual spending last year  

with the new allocation, Treasurer  

Egan doesn’t look so generous  

it’s just 2.5 per cent increase at  

time when inflation is anticipated  

at around 2.25 per cent.  

Full details on  

pages and  

Cite

Citation options:
Work identifier

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-680978409

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 July 29, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-680978409

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. 29 July 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-680978409>

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 29 July 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-680978409

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. 82 No. 06 (11 Jun 2001)
  | location=Sydney
  | publisher=The Federation
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-680978409
  | id=nla.obj-680978409
  | access-date=29 July 2025
  | via=Trove
}}

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