Thursday, 21 March 2024

Teacher workforce

Jess WILSON (Kew) (14:09): My question is to the Minister for Education. Over the next four years Victoria faces an expected shortfall of over 5000 teachers. There are currently 1313 job vacancies at government schools, and less than 4 per cent have incentives attached. Why is the minister failing to address the teacher shortage crisis?

Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for Medical Research) (14:09): I have got 3 minutes, okay? Thank you for the question, shadow minister. I am a bit disappointed because I think the shadow minister is the great hope for the other side, but she has obviously not read the report. If you go to the report, on page 3 it says –

Jacinta Allan interjected.

Ben CARROLL: that early; I will get to the other pages – modelling does not include the expected positive supply of all the Victorian government initiatives. It also highlights in the report that in Victoria we are growing the teacher workforce by twice the national average. I remind the chamber, yesterday I said 50 per cent of schools built across the nation are built here in Victoria and 50 per cent of the national workforce growth for teachers is built right here in Victoria. I look at my colleagues, and I see many teachers here that have become members of Parliament. I look at the other side and I do not see any teachers, but we know the opposition leader did tell everyone today he is a lawyer, and that is what they have got.

We also know that under our government $1.6 billion has been invested in the teacher workforce. Do not take my word for it; take the federal minister Jason Clare’s, who said himself what we are doing in Victoria is nation leading. We are at nearly 10 per cent of people enrolling in teaching degrees just this year. We are getting on with it. To directly answer the question, there are 8000 more registered teachers today than there were three years ago, because we are a government that invests in education. We are the Education State, and we will keep going and supporting our teachers. Some might think being a lawyer is the greatest job in the world and need to tell everyone; we know being a teacher is the most important job in the world.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Members will be removed from the chamber without warning. The interjections are unacceptable.

Jess WILSON (Kew) (14:12): Swinburne Senior Secondary College in Hawthorn had to cancel VCE classes in term 1 due to a lack of teachers. How many government secondary schools are currently being forced to cancel classes due to a lack of teachers?

Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for Medical Research) (14:12): Right across the state every school I have visited so far this year – and right across the 14 schools that we opened at the beginning of this year – is fully resourced. In fact, if you go to the report, it says the Victorian school system overall has not only met its expectations but has achieved reductions in student–teacher ratios and that Victorian student–teacher ratios are some of the best in the country. That is why the Productivity Commission handed down a report showing we are number 1 when it comes to education. The report also says – I want to quote; I have got 25 seconds:

Sufficient teachers are available over the forecast period to meet demand –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister is required to be direct. The question asked how many schools are being forced to cut classes, and the minister has not addressed that simple question.

The SPEAKER: A point of order is not an opportunity to repeat the question. The minister was being relevant to the question that was asked.

Ben CARROLL: Since we came to office we have invested, and the report goes to it, $1.6 billion in school workforce initiatives. That is more than they invested in the whole entire miserable four years when they were in office in education. We spend more on workforce than they did in full on school upgrades. The biggest threat to education in this state is the election of a Liberal government.