Notice given 14 February 2002

17  Senator Tierney: To move—That the Senate—

(a) notes the serious problem of overcrowding in New South Wales public schools, especially when compared with other states across the country;

(b) acknowledges the shameful results of a New South Wales Teachers Federation survey showing 20 per cent of all classes in each of the first 3 years of primary school being over the Carr Government’s own limit, and 32 per cent of all kindergarten classes exceeding suggested class sizes during 2001;

(c) condemns the Carr Government for putting New South Wales children’s education at risk by increasing class numbers and not reducing them as other states are now doing;

(d) congratulates the Howard Government for increasing funding to New South Wales government schools by 5.2 per cent in 2001, as opposed to Premier Carr’s paltry 2.6 per cent; and

(e) recognises the low priority given to education by the Carr Government, as evidenced by the fact that the amount spent on education as a percentage of total state budget has dropped from 25.5 per cent to 22 per cent in the 7 years since Labor came to power in New South Wales.