Response from the Australian Labor Party

Dear Mr Mountford

Thank you for your letter dated 28 August, 2024, providing ISQ's Election Statement for the 2024 State Election. The Miles Labor Government recognises the hard work and advocacy of ISQ on behalf of your members.

Our Labor Government led by new Premier Steven Miles has delivered historic cost of living relief for all Queenslanders. By making multinational mining companies pay their fair share we have delivered $1,300 off every Queenslander's power bill, 50 cent public transport fares, cutting rego by 20%, free Kindy, free TAFE, we banned rent bidding, cut stamp duty for first home buyers and delivered $200 FairPlay vouchers for all Queensland families to help with the cost of kids' sport.

We also have an ambitious plan for Queensland's future — more health workers and more hospitals, more schools, roads, public transport, projects to keep Queenslanders in jobs and a universal free school lunch program at State primary schools. We're building more homes for Queenslanders, delivering our nation-leading Energy and Jobs Plan to power our homes and economy with cheap firmed renewable energy and we're acting on community safety with more police and crime prevention.

The Miles Labor Government recognises that a strong and sustainable teaching workforce is critical to building our communities. To deliver access to a quality education, we need to continue to attract teachers to this profession and support them in their core business of teaching and learning. That is why last month we released the Queensland Teaching Workforce Strategy 2024-2027.

The Strategy reflects the contributions of stakeholders from State, Catholic and independent school sectors, teacher registration authorities, professional and industrial organisations and universities who all participated in roundtables on workforce and student behaviour held throughout the year. The Strategy includes sector-wide attraction, recruitment and retention initiatives to support Queensland's state and non-government school teachers.

In response to the specific requests outlined in ISQ's 2024 State Election Priorities:

• In line with previous capital commitments, a re-elected Miles Labor Government will continue discussions with the Catholic and Independent school sectors on capital funding assistance for consideration in the 2025-26 State Budget.
• The Queensland Schools Planning Reference Committee (QSPRC) provides a forum for the State, Catholic and Independent schooling sectors, and cross-government agencies to discuss infrastructure planning for new and existing schools. A re-elected Miles Labor Government will further discuss matters related to zoning, infrastructure offsets and the use of government land for new schools.
• A re-elected Miles Labor Government will work with the non-state school sector to understand the impact of the Non-Government School State Census. This includes consideration of reducing administrative burden and collecting the data sets not currently captured in the census - Isolated Students, Boarding Fee Concessions and Students with a Language Background Other than English.
• In 2020, the Labor Government provided three years of annual funding to parent peak bodies in the non-state schooling sectors under the Parent Engagement Program. A re-elected Miles Labor Government will provide $140,000 in ongoing funding to the Queensland Independent Schools Parents Network, indexed against CPI. Non-state school parent bodies can also apply for project-specific funding from the Department.
• We encourage ISQ to support member schools to collectively promote scholarship, bursary and grant opportunities offered within their sector on the ISQ website to better connect preservice and graduate teachers with financial incentives.
• A re-elected Miles Labor Government commits to further discussions with non-state schooling regarding the qualifying ICSEA score to access the School 2 Work Transition program.
• The Miles Labor Government supports establishment of the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) as the certification body for all HALTs in Queensland, whilst acknowledging the considerable activity that would be required to achieve this. It's understood that the QCT is still working through legislative, financial and policy decisions to allow this change to occur within AITSL's updated Framework for Certification of Highly Accomplished and Lead Teachers.
• A re-elected Miles Labor Government will support the non-government sector through resources and advice for any schools choosing to engage a wellbeing professional or a GP to provide services to their students.
• We are currently working with the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) to further develop a fit-for-purpose model that would support the participation of all schooling sectors in the State's offshore schools program. A Stakeholder Reference Group, including nominees from ISQ, is supporting collaborative work on a proposed new model, which would see responsibility for program administration shift to QCAA.
• We are currently progressing work on the largest reform to the regulation of the non-state schools' sector in 17 years. This includes the establishment of a Stakeholder Reference Group to consult on framework modernisation, development of a contemporary approach to regulation, and guidance material to increase sector engagement.

In contrast David Crisafulli and the LNP have outlined no vision other than to cut — projects, jobs and essential services. Mr Crisafulli is a risk to Queensland and he will cut what matters to Queenslanders, just like the LNP did last time when they changed the staffing model meaning 500 fewer teaching positions from Queensland state schools and worsening student to teacher ratios. Should the Miles Labor Government be re-elected, we look forward to continuing to work with you to continue to do what matters for Queensland.

Yours sincerely,

CAMERON DICK MP
Deputy Premier
Treasurer
Minister for Trade and Investment
23/10/2024

Education Policy: The Miles Government is investing an additional $71 million as part of its teacher attraction, recruitment and retention plan.

Response from the Liberal National Party (LNP)

Dear Christopher,

Thank you for raising Independent Schools Queensland's major policies priorities with the LNP ahead of the 2024 state election.

Queenslanders will be asking themselves at this election whether their lives are better or worse after almost a decade under Labor and who has the right priorities for Queensland’s future.

With respect to the issues you have raised, I can advise the following:

Proactive Planning for New Schools

The LNP is committed to delivering better services and infrastructure for every taxpayer dollar invested.

This will include developing timely regional plans for the future of every Queensland region to identify what infrastructure and services are needed to accommodate our growth.

While the LNP has not committed to additional capital funding for the non-government sector, we are open to ongoing discussions and planning to ensure we can work collaboratively to deliver the education infrastructure that Queensland needs.

Growing and Retaining the Education Workforce

The LNP will secure the teachers needed for our future by delivering a comprehensive teacher workforce strategy.

The LNP will also continue to support programs such as ‘Trade to Teach’, in addition to introducing additional programs to boost Queensland’s teacher workforce.

Teacher workloads need to be addressed as a matter of priority, reducing unreasonable administration demands that are currently affecting teacher morale and contributing to teacher burnout.

The LNP will work with teachers, principals, and sector leaders to identify the best way to achieve a tangible reduction.

Ongoing Support for a Diverse Independent Sector

The LNP is supportive of Special Assistance Schools in Queensland. We recognise that mainstream schools are not always suitable or able to meet the needs of all students.

The LNP commits to working with ISQ and Special Assistance Schools to ensure they have the support and capability to continue delivering specialised education to students across Queensland.

While no in-depth discussions have taken place to date with regards to changing the ICSEA score system, the LNP is open to further consultation.

There are several recommendations in your election statement that the LNP have not committed to, however, we are open to ongoing engagement to ensure education in Queensland is meeting the needs of all students, families and educators across the state.

In conclusion, after a decade of Labor, Queensland is heading in the wrong direction on the key issues of Youth Crime, Health, Cost of living and Housing.

Our State needs a Fresh Start and the LNP has The Right Plan for Queensland’s Future, which includes:

• Safety where you live – through stronger laws like Adult Crime, Adult Time and gold standard early intervention
• Health services when you need them – by axing Labor’s Patients’ Tax, a tax which doctors have said will end bulk billing and make GP visits more expensive
• Respect for your money – by stopping Labor’s expensive budget blowouts which are pushing up costs for families
• A place to call home – by abolishing stamp duty on new builds for first home buyers
• A government that works for you – to address challenges for the long term, not band-aid solutions at election time

See more of our plan and keep up to date on recent announcements at rightplanqld.com.au.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Independent Schools Queensland’s priorities and we look forward to future engagement about these matters.

Education Policy: The LNP has announced its More Teachers, Better Education policy with a $207 million boost to Queensland’s education, with a focus on safe classrooms, more teachers and getting back to basics.

Response from the Queensland Greens

Dear Mr Mountford,

Thank you for your letter setting out your priorities ahead of the 2024 state election.

The Queensland Greens’ plan for Queensland is here, and summarises our key election commitments to date with more to be added.

Right now Queensland’s state schools are some of the most underfunded in the country, funded at $1.7 billion per year below the amount needed to provide students with a minimum standard of education under the national minimum needs funding framework, the Schooling Resource Standard. Our priority commitment is to support quality, well-funded, free education so that every Queensland child, no matter who they are or where they are born, can get a great education.

Nonetheless we recognise the contribution that independent schools make to educating thousands of Queensland children, setting them up for a good life with great opportunities.

The Queensland Greens believe that the government has a primary responsibility to fund the public education system to provide high quality education to all students but we recognise that independent schools will continue to play an important role in offering families choice and diversity in education.

To this end, the Greens support measures which build the teaching workforce, such as supported study pathways for teachers, including free university and TAFE courses, and government funding for paid placements. We also support measures to support student wellbeing.

Our member-endorsed education policy is here.

Education Policy