Education, Science & Innovation

Senator Bob Brown's address to the National Press Club - July 2010

Speech | Spokesperson Bob Brown
Wednesday 14th July 2010, 5:02pm
in

At this National Press Club I acknowledge the traditional owners of the Canberra region and all the Indigenous people of our nation.

This year will be another milestone in politics for the Australian Greens. The sole balance of power in the Senate and a breakthrough into the House of Representatives are both within reach. Australia's voters are looking for more progressive politics and the stable, experienced leadership which we alone have produced over the past three turbulent years in Canberra.

Time To Take Early Childhood Learning Seriously

Media Release | Spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young
Monday 23rd November 2009, 9:45pm
in

The collapse of ABC Learning has presented an opportunity to reform systems of care for our youngest children, now the Federal Government must show the commitment to make it happen, according to Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

Senator Hanson-Young, Greens spokesperson on Youth, Childcare and Education, says the report of the 12-month inquiry into childcare tabled in the Senate has shown that reliance on corporate providers has not resulted in an appropriate quality of care.

"It's time to stop settling for a profit-driven, poor quality approach to childcare in Australia, and instead focus on creating the system that our children deserve,'' Senator Hanson-Young said.

Statement on technical colleges

Speech | Spokesperson Christine Milne
Wednesday 18th November 2009, 12:00am
in

Senator MILNE (Tasmania) (3:56 PM) -I seek leave to make a short statement relating to Senator Barnett's motion which has just been passed.


The DEPUTY PRESIDENT -Leave is granted for two minutes.


Senator MILNE -The Australian Greens did not support the Howard government's establishment of these colleges because we believed at the time that it was a politically motivated decision, that the colleges would duplicate services already provided by existing institutions-the TAFE colleges in particular-and that the establishment of the colleges was part of the attack on the union movement. However, these colleges have been established. They are very well funded in comparison with similar colleges offering similar services and that disproportionate funding is inequitable.

Having said that, the Bartlett Labor government in Tasmania has made a complete and utter mess of the transitional arrangements to this new system of the academy and polytechnics and so on. There is no clear transitional arrangement for the 270 students and 35 staff in the Australian Technical College Northern Tasmania with its two campuses that we are discussing here today. There are no satisfactory transitional arrangements. There is no guarantee on staffing. We do note that the Bartlett government has now said that it will do everything it can to make sure that the colleges do not fail, and I am glad to hear that that is the case. So we are supporting this on the basis that those students and staff have proper transitional arrangements and that equivalent certification can be achieved as this process is worked through.

High-Quality Childcare Must Be A Top Priority

Media Release | Spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young
Thursday 29th October 2009, 12:58pm
in

A new survey showing overwhelming public support for quality childcare reinforces the message to the Federal Government that childcare is an essential service which needs appropriate funding, according to Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

Senator Hanson-Young, Greens spokesperson on Childcare, says 84 per cent of people surveyed wanted the Federal Government to make quality childcare a priority, emphasising the growing dissatisfaction with the pace of reform in early childhood education and care.

"It is obvious that the public is tired of waiting for the Government to take action to improve the standard and conditions of childcare,'' Senator Hanson-Young said.

G8 comes to the Huon Valley

Photo Gallery | Spokesperson Christine Milne
Wednesday 28th October 2009, 12:15pm
in
Click one of the thumbnails to view the gallery.

Huonville High School's grade eight (G8) students present Christine with their report into attitudes towards climate change. Christine took the report to the Senate and presented it to the UN's youth ambassador for Australia at the climate change summit in Copenhagen.

Government must release Y-A modelling - Greens

Media Release | Spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young
Tuesday 13th October 2009, 12:05pm
in

The Government must release the economic modelling it has relied upon when formulating its changes to Youth Allowance, according to the Greens Education Spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

"The Government has been more than happy to sell the winners of these reforms, but when it comes to talking about those who are going to miss out, they are reluctant to tell the whole story."

"How can the Government continue to claim its youth allowance package is budget neutral, when it says it doesn't have detailed modelling at its disposal?"

Christine donating a bike for the Blackmans Bay Primary School fair

Photo Gallery | Spokesperson Christine Milne
Thursday 8th October 2009, 9:33am
in
Click one of the thumbnails to view the gallery.

Greens demand more information in publication of school results

Media Release | Spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young
Wednesday 16th September 2009, 1:02pm
in

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says more information – including figures on the funding schools receive – must be included in the publication of school testing results to ensure that simplistic ‘league tables’ cannot be created to disadvantage some schools.

The Federal Government has pushed ahead with plans to publish every school’s literacy and numeracy results online, without information on school funding to contextualise the results, as was promised by Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

“The Greens are concerned that, without enforceable protocols under which school results can be published, simplistic league tables will be produced,” said Senator Hanson-Young, Greens spokesperson for Education.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority

Motion | Spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young
Tuesday 15th September 2009, 4:19pm
in

That the Senate calls on the Federal Government to:


a) release the protocols for The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority's reporting information and publication of national schools data; and


b) amend The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority Act to provide for these protocols as a legislative instrument; and


c) conduct a review of the impact of the testing and reporting regime on resourcing, educational outcomes and teaching workforce after 2 years.


Motion negatived by the Senate.

G8 comes to the Huon Valley

Media Release | Spokesperson Christine Milne
Friday 28th August 2009, 2:16pm
in

Grade 8 Huonville High School students have discovered that the vast majority of Tasmanians are willing to tackle the threat of climate change.

Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, today attended a launch of the student's findings sourced from a three year survey of Tasmanians and their thoughts about a changing climate.

The event, billed as the ‘G8 (grade 8) meeting that can make a difference', saw students, young climate activists and politicians coming together to envisage a cleaner, greener planet.

"This is a great day of sharing ideas, of working collaboratively towards answering that great question of how to stop catastrophic climate change, but more so, it's a day of hope."

"It's a perfect antidote to a parliament full of climate sceptics and big polluter bedfellows. It's through these brave young minds that the real sentiment of Tasmanians is laid bare for all to see."

"Huonville High's three year study shows a fantastic level of awareness and concern among Tasmanians. It shows an overwhelming number, 82 percent of respondents, agreeing that climate change is already a major threat to the way we live our lives."

"And perhaps most heartening of all, it shows a real willingness to make change. Despite acknowledging the financial costs of shifting to a more sustainable lifestyle, 69 percent of people asked said they are already taking up the challenge of cleaning up the planet. That's real progress, and a real lesson to those in government who choose to do little or nothing at all."

"Today's encouraging results do, however, reveal one concerning statistic. The Huonville students have found more people now believe that it's too hard to stop climate change. We must turn this around; defeatism must become activism."

Young climate activists from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition were also on hand to inspire the students with examples of what young, brave and willing minds can achieve.