The Australian Greens Leader, Bob Brown, appears to be at odds with his Tasmanian counterpart over the timeframe for deciding school closures.
Bob Brown will speak directly to Tasmanian Greens leader and Education Minister Nick McKim about the plan to close schools.
Twenty schools are set to close at the end of the year to help the State Government fill a $1.4 billion black hole.
Mr McKim has started visiting the schools on a list for possible closure.
At Glenora in southern Tasmania, he was confronted by a group of angry parents who complained they were not given enough notice about the visit. (On TT: Saving Our Schools HERE)
Senator Brown says the Minister needs to ensure that the affected communities are given enough time for debate and consultation.
“I will be adding my word, if you want to have it, directly to Nick McKim.”
“I’ll be urging him to make sure that communities do feel they’ve had adequate time to discuss this matter, to be consulted,” he said.
Senator Brown says he empathises with rural schools whose students will have to travel further to school.
“I was a bush school kid myself and the idea of kids being on longer and longer bus trips to get to school is not a good one,” he said.
Nick McKim says he is always happy to talk to Senator Brown, but he has been urged by several school communities not to extend the deadline for consultation.
Earlier on Tasmanian Times: Steve Biddulph on Saving Our Schools
• ABC Online Stanley fights to keep school open
About 250 people have attended a public meeting to fight the closure of Stanley Primary School in Tasmania’s far north-west.
Children and community members gathered at the school’s new gymnasium which was paid for under the Federal Government’s education stimulus package.
The meeting was also attended by state politicians, including Opposition leader Will Hodgman, local labor member Brenton Best and the Greens’ Education spokesman Paul O’Halloran.
The Schools Association’s Sue Smedley told the group the Government’s decision to include the school on its hit list has created anger, fear and doubt in the community.
She questioned why the Government would close a happy, high-performing school in a growing area.
“Supposedly these closures are for the best educational outcomes.”
“Well how much better can you get than the top performing school in the state, when compared to other schools of similar standard?
“How much better then 100 per cent of students meeting the expected standards for numeracy and literacy, or being in of the top 10 primary schools in the state?”
Ms Smedley said the school was the only one in Tasmania to have produced a prime minister in Joe Lyons.
Mr Hodgman drew strong applause when he asked why the Premier, Lara Giddings, and Education Minister, Nick McKim, were absent.
Keep up to date on the schools fight by using the TT News Dropdown (top Nav Bar). ABC Online particularly has regular reports of parents’ protests.
First published: 2011-07-01 08:56 AM
