Education system
Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:29): (1387) My question today is to the Treasurer. Public school teachers and education support staff continue to fight for better pay and conditions. We saw thousands just recently rallying on the steps of our state Parliament. They want a decent pay rise but also real changes that reduce workloads, unpaid overtime and class sizes to address teacher retention and for our public schools to finally be fully funded. In terms of our state finances is it a fact that Victoria has sufficient funds to cover everything that the teachers and support staff are requesting – that is to say, if you wanted to fund them for what they are asking for, you could?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Development Victoria and Precincts) (12:30): Thank you, Mr Puglielli. At the outset, I would make a comment in relation to the government’s continued discussions with teachers through their industrial representation, the AEU. Those negotiations continue in good faith. More so my capacity as Minister for Industrial Relations is probably what that leans on. You ask an interesting question in terms of ‘Can the government afford this, that, whatever?’ We have a substantial budget. We have a budget that is in surplus, but all decisions of government come down to priorities. It is difficult to answer your question, because the answer is going to be always, ‘Yes, but you have got to consider all of the moving parts of what your government is responsible for funding.’ I do not want to set up an example where every single person that receives a pay cheque from government comes and says, ‘Well, you can pay us whatever you want because you’ve got such a substantial budget.’ It is not really how the budget works. So your question is difficult to answer in a simple way, because being in government is about priorities. It is about choices. There is a substantial budget that we hope can facilitate all of the priorities of the Victorian government, and we do our very best to address all of those.
Members interjecting.
Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:31): Treasurer, I concur. It is about priorities. That is for sure. You could prioritise giving the teachers and support staff everything that they are asking for, because that is exactly what they deserve. Treasurer, is there a fiscal justification for why Victoria continues to pay teachers the least in the country?