QUESTIONS FOR POLITICAL CANDIDATES IN THE 2025 FEDERAL ELECTION

The NSW Retired Teachers Association has compiled the list of questions below to help members and supporters of public education to use when speaking with candidates in their local electorates in the lead-up to the next Federal election.

We encourage you to make contact with your local Federal sitting member and request a meeting to discuss the matter of public education, in particular the funding and staffing of public education. It would be helpful in raising the importance of public education to also make contact with other candidates standing in your electorate and ask each of them some of these questions.

If you are able to speak with a candidate or sitting member, you will usually only be given a short time to chat. It is suggested that you select only a few of these questions to ask, ones that you are particularly interested in or feel confident in speaking about.

Good luck in your endeavours to keep the provision of a well-resourced and high quality public education as an important issue in the minds of all politicians and candidates!

GEMMA ACKROYD

President, NSW Retired Teachers Association

Funding of Schools

· Funding of schools is a complex matter. Although federal and state governments have signed agreements to provide full funding, public schools will not receive full funding until 2034. The ongoing underfunding of public education by federal (and state) governments is inequitable and has led to a disparity in our society. Will your party commit to ensuring full funding of public schools before 2034?

· Will your party commit to prioritising full funding of public schools over independent and faith-based schools?

· Does your party plan to alter the agreements for the funding of public schools that are now in place?

· The School Resource Standard (SRS) is an estimate of how much public funding a school needs to meet its students’ educational needs. The SRS is a minimum standard. Will your party commit to ensuring that public schools receive the funding of the 100% of the SRS?

· In the recent past TAFE education has been decimated by government policy and the transfer of the sector to private providers. How will you/ your party support the ongoing development of high standard vocational education in TAFE?

Staffing of Schools

· Shortages of teachers continues, despite some positive programs in the past year. How does your party plan to address this shortage that is leaving many students missing lessons through a lack of teachers?

· All students should be taught every day by qualified teachers, trained in the areas they are asked to teach in. Many students are being taught by teachers not trained in their subject area. What will your party do about this?

· Staff shortages have currently reduced subject choices for students in Years 9-12 in some schools. What is your party’s approach to improve this situation?

· How will your party rectify the current shortage of staff in rural and remote communities and in hard to staff schools?

· What will your party do to attract good quality applicants into teaching as well as keep teachers in schools and TAFE colleges?

· What will you/ your party do to promote ongoing professional development opportunities in all subject areas for public school teachers?

· What will your party do to support teachers, acknowledge their training and expertise instead of the undermining of teachers’ professionalism that is so common in the media?

· The workload of teachers is crippling and pushing many out of the profession. What will your party do about this issue?