RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS - Queensland Parliament ...

31 Oct 2012 Appropriation (Parliament) Bill; Appropriation Bill 2315
The member for Dalrymple was also reminded of this government’s commitment to review the
amount of water released as soon as is practicable if the local agricultural sector demonstrates a
commitment to develop their properties in a sustainable fashion. The Newman government’s actions to
boost opportunities for irrigated agriculture in the north-west should be applauded by local MPs from
that region rather than them continuing to indulge in this predictable and lazy political rhetoric.
I would like to thank the member for Lockyer, the chairman of the committee, for his diligence
during his chairmanship of the committee. I would also like to thank the government members of the
committee who put sensible questions to the ministers involved, the parliamentary staff who were
extremely helpful throughout the day and, of course, the departmental officers and ministerial staff who
supported me in preparation for the estimates committee hearing.
Report adopted.
Education and Innovation Committee
Report
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Ruthenberg): The question is—
That the report of the Education and Innovation Committee be adopted.
Mrs MENKENS (Burdekin—LNP) (9.06 pm): I am delighted to speak to report No. 10 of the
Education and Innovation Committee titled Consideration of 2012-13 portfolio budget estimates. On
behalf of the committee may I sincerely thank Ministers Langbroek and Bates, their directors-general
and other departmental staff as well as the CEOs of the various GOCs for their assistance and
contribution to this estimates process. However, the really hard work done on behalf of the committee is
by the research staff. I commend and thank Ms Bernice Watson, who is the research director, and
Ms Emily Booth and Ms Carolyn Heffernan for their untiring and cheerful assistance at all times. I also
thank the members of the committee and the three visiting members for their participation in what was at
times a robust but very meaningful discussion.
This report presents a summary of the committee’s examination of the budget estimates for the
2012-13 financial year. In the area of education, the minister outlined this government’s provision of
education services in 2012 in 1,239 state schools to more than 496,100 students across Queensland.
That clearly outlined how important education is to this government and the various new initiatives that
were election promises and which are being delivered by this government.
Among those initiatives is the provision of up to 270 additional teachers, teacher aides and
support staff which, of course, is very welcome. Front-line staff are of the highest priority and this has
been demonstrated when we see that 95 per cent of DETE employees work in schools and TAFEs with
the remainder working in central and regional offices. It was also important to note the minister’s
opening statement where he said—
The Premier ... made a very clear statement that education would no longer be siloed as its own consideration. It would be given
a story and the story is that from the moment a child begins their educational journey in one of our kindergartens to the moment
that they are employed in the Queensland economy this government is committed to giving them the basic skills, pathways and
qualifications to succeed in their chosen career.
This is just so important. The delivery of education is an essential part of this government and to
all of us it is a lifelong experience. There are 46 schools and two TAFE colleges in my electorate of
Burdekin. I am just sorry that distance and time precludes spending more time at these schools.
Teachers are some of our most hardworking professional people and their dedication never ceases to
amaze me. Nine o’clock until three o’clock is only the delivery time for teachers; preparation is seven
days a week. Regardless of the benefits for education that the new national curriculum will bring, the
workload on teachers is simply enormous as they implement this new system.
I salute them all. Our teachers must never be undervalued. Last week I was privileged to attend
the Confucius classroom opening at William Ross State High School. It was a wonderful day with a
concert from the students in Chinese. We saw lion dancers and we saw the opening of two classrooms.
The work that those teachers had done in authentic decorations in the classrooms was awesome. One
of the aims of the day was to increase students’ enthusiasm to study Chinese. I have no doubt that that
will occur.
Getting back to the estimates report, the second half was devoted to the area of science,
information technology, innovation and the arts. The minister outlined that this is a new department and
is focused on delivering improved services to Queenslanders and to other government agencies. It was
good to note her comments that the government will be working with businesses to embrace the digital
economy, partnering with universities and collaborating with researchers as well as promoting the arts
sector. It was particularly instructive to note that the department is currently working through the first
ever whole-of-government IT audit with the focus to identify savings and waste as well as performance