Communist Party of Australia

Whether an election is held next month or on the latest possible date in September, there is no doubt that teachers will again be used as political footballs by all parties.

The Liberal National Party has clearly flagged its intention to make education a leading issue in campaigning, with leader Lawrence Springborg having announced a few teacher-targeted policies.

While any positive news for teachers is welcome, such as full-time prep teacher-aides and extra funding for teacher housing, the LNP announcements were typical of politicians’ approach to the complex educational agenda: lacking detail, substance and any evidence of grasping the real issues that confront classroom teachers on a daily basis.

Of course, media coverage of such announcements relies on short, simplistic and populist sound grabs, but unfortunately that is all that is being offered. For example, Mr Springborg spoke briefly about a “points system” for teachers relating to their promotional chances, based on service in remote locations, length of service and “results in classrooms”.

There was no detail provided on the proffered “promotional positions”, or on how the points criteria would be evaluated.

Most worrying is the reference to classroom results: with such a paucity of information, we could be forgiven for worrying that the spectre of the former Coalition federal government’s performance-based pay has raised its ugly head in the state arena.

If the LNP intention was to capture the teacher vote, it missed the mark. Fiddling about the edges with ill-conceived notions such as a “teacher advancement team” will do absolutely nothing to address the real problems in a chronically under-funded system.

The state government’s airy response of “same old, same old,” while largely true, added nothing of substance to the important public debate on teacher pay and conditions in Queensland, and the impact on attracting and retaining sufficient teachers to meet the state’s educational needs. Clearly the current state government needs to lift its resourcing game.

Neither has either side made any clear commitments on the crucial issue of funding for our state schools and TAFE institutes.

It seems that politicians of all persuasions, while purporting to represent the interests of their constituents, consistently “forget” to consult the very constituents most affected by their policy decisions – in this case, the teachers of Queensland.

Given that the QTU represents 96 per cent of Queensland’s state school teachers, it is not unreasonable to expect to be consulted on areas central to our organisation’s aims.

The Union will be asking all parties to provide substantive, detailed accounts of their proposed education and teacher employment policies in this state election year. We will be examining their commitments and analysing the consequences with reference to the real education world; we will be looking at their track records in terms of both party ideology and individual candidates’ history.

As active members of both the QTU and the voting public, you can help create a more informed public debate by asking for detailed accounts from your local state member or candidate.

In the meantime, any sitting or hopeful state MP might like to take a proactive approach and visit our website to find out about the pressing problems facing classroom teachers and administrators, and to understand that the QTU has proposed a range of solutions, including the introduction of professional – as opposed to ill-conceived “performance” – pay.

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