‘Minister’s Spin Leaves Teachers Cold’

Consultation groups’ composition questioned

By lunchtime today new education minister, Lin Thorpe, had completed four of her Tasmania Tomorrow meetings with selected teacher groups at Claremont College and Rosny Colleges and Hobart and Elizabeth Academy and Polytechnic campuses.

Her performance at these meetings has left teachers cold.

Teachers have been pleased that the new education minister is meeting with them but have made it clear to her that their attendance at these meetings does not mean that they want anything other than the complete rollback of Tasmania Tomorrow and the immediate restoration of their secondary college.

Teachers have left her in no doubt about their position. They are adamant that the separation and labelling of students into Academy and polytech campuses must cease. Secondly, they have insisted that the separation of teachers into Academy and Polytech must cease. Thirdly, they have insisted that the two separate administrations (one academy and the other polytechnic) on Year 11 and 12 campuses is divisive, confusing and wasteful. And fourthly, that the running of the office, finance, Information Technology, the library, teacher aides, cleaners and ground staff must be brought back under the control of on campus administration.

One teacher said: “Lin Thorpe thinks that she can fix things by tinkering with something that is beyond her control now. She was told of the emotional cost that Tasmania Tomorrow has had on our office staff. Everyday they are close to tears and are run off their feet. They are told one thing one day and something different the next. Tinkering with things, will not be enough to clean up the mess. She sounds like she is going to use bandaids to cure a disease.”

Elizabeth Polytechnic and Academy Meeting – Group composition concerns

Teachers at the Elizabeth Campus are also concerned about the stacking of the minister’s consultation group with pro Tasmania Tomorrow advocates.. The consultative groups were supposed to be randomly selected from the teaching staff at Elizabeth College staff and yet four who attended the meeting were not.

One group member said: “How can people like that compare Elizabeth campus now with Elizabeth College last year. Two of them were TAFE teachers, not college teachers, and another one refused to give her name to Lin Thorpe or say where she was from. Even the office staff had never seen her before.”

Greg Brown, the AEU President of the Secondary College Sector said, “What doesn’t Lin Thorpe understand about the election result? The Labor Party suffered a 40% reduction in seats because of Tasmania Tomorrow. The Tasmanian electorate clearly voted to roll back Tasmania Tomorrow and that now is what college teachers expect to be done.”

“If Lin Thorpe is really listening at these meetings she will come away knowing that Tasmania Tomorrow cannot be saved but the education of our Year 11 and 12 students can – by rolling back Tasmania Tomorrow.”

“It would be politically insane for her to try and stand in the way of the Liberals and the Greens who are going to end the Tasmania Tomorrow fiasco.”