David Bartlett’s communication to teachers throughout the state today must be seen for what it is. His email to teachers today shows how desperate he and his advisers are about Saturday’s election result

His appeal is a stark admission that his singlehanded destruction of the Secondary Colleges and TAFE has become an electoral nightmare for him. Why else would he continue harping on about it and ignoring many other pressing issues?

Greg Brown, AEU President of the Secondary Colleges Sector said:

“David Bartlett’s Tasmania Tomorrow fiasco has been totally rejected by the vast majority of Post Year 10 teachers and support staff. It is a waste of close to $50 million. It has created two classes of students, crushed the professional lives of many teachers and created an overpopulated and fat bureaucracy.

In his email David Bartlett referred to the advertisement placed in weekend newspapers by two former AEU presidents.

Mr Brown said: “Not once in the whole dreary saga of Tasmania Tomorrow has either of the former presidents contacted the secondary colleges sector or the TAFE Division of the union. It is impossible to understand how what they say can be regarded seriously. Unfortunately, they do not have the information that we have.”

Mr Brown wondered whether the two former presidents were in fact financial members of the Labor Party doing a favour for the party.

“They have forgotten that the current government in its various incarnations – Bacon, Lennon and now Bartlett – has squandered over $100 million of taxpayers’ money on schemes that were created in the premier’s office just like Tasmania Tomorrow.”

“$20 million was wasted on the Atelier Report. Where are the school clusters now? And the heartbreaking problems associated with teaching special needs children still remain.

$50 million was wasted on the ELs.

And now $45 million has been wasted on Tasmania Tomorrow.”

Is this the type of good governance that the two former union presidents are advocating? No consultation, just the latest good idea from the education minister’s office?”

“Just think what could have been accomplished in our primary and high schools if that $115 million had not been wasted,” Mr Brown said.

“David Bartlett would not listen to us. For two years he ignored us. Then he told us that he would see us at the election. His highlighting the comments of past union officials shows that he is out of touch and desperate.

The next election is only 4 days away now.”
Greg Brown, AEU President of the Secondary Colleges Sector