Press conference - Rockhampton, Queensland
JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: Thanks very much for coming along. It’s great to be back in Rocky, and it’s particularly fantastic to be here with my friend JP. We were together only a couple of days ago in Canberra.
On Monday we made a really big announcement worth $2.8 billion of extra Commonwealth funding for public schools right across Queensland, an agreement that was struck by the Prime Minister and the Queensland Premier as well as the two of us, working together in the interests of kids right across Queensland. And that investment over the next decade is going to make sure that all public schools right across Queensland are fully funded.
It's the last piece in the puzzle to make sure that all public schools right across the nation are fully funded. And it’s going to change lives. It’s a classic example of two Governments working together. And that’s what today is all about as well. We got a great opportunity just a minute ago to meet the doctors of the future – young people that are studying medicine right now that are going to be doctors in Rocky in the years ahead.
And what we’re announcing today is that the Australian Government will provide $80 million to help build the health sciences school that Rockhampton needs. It’s a health sciences academy for Year 10 to 12. The Premier made this commitment in the election campaign. I’m glad that the Commonwealth Government can contribute to help make this a reality. It’s a great example of two Governments working together – Commonwealth Government chipping in, State Government chipping in – to help make sure that young people in regional Australia get the skills they need to produce the doctors and the nurses and the ambos and the health science professionals that we need now and that we’re going to need in the years ahead.
And as we all know, if you study local, you’re more likely to stay local. If you become a doctor in Rocky – if you study medicine in Rocky, you’re more likely to become a doctor who works in Rocky. And that’s why this is so important. Young people while they’re still at high school, getting the skills they need to go and study a university degree in health sciences, and help make sure that we’ve got more doctors and nurses and ambos here in Rocky and across regional Queensland.
I’ll hand over to you, mate.
JOHN-PAUL LANGBROEK, QUEENSLAND MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: Thanks, Jason. Well, thanks, everyone, for being here today. And I want to thank Jason Clare, our Federal Minister, as well for the partnership that we’ve had over the last couple of months working on that public school funding scheme that we were able to finalise on Monday. But importantly today is another piece of the puzzle about the election commitment that we made about the new health sciences academy that we want to bring to central Queensland and Rockhampton specifically.
So, we really want to thank the Federal Government for the $80 million commitment. It’s an $80 million commitment by the Federal Government that’s going to be a big help in us delivering our election commitment. So, it’s great to be here with the vice-chancellor and two of our local MPs as well.
But as Jason Clare has just mentioned, seeing the students in action and hearing their stories – many of them here from the local community – and it’s a very, very important partnership between the Federal Government, the State Government, our local health services and schools and, of course, the university.
So, we’re very appreciative, and we know it’s going to lead to better outcomes. I was here just a month ago, here at the university and also at local high schools. And we know there are over 30 different jobs in health that young people can aspire to. And as Jason Clare has mentioned, if they study here, they’re more likely to stay here.
We don’t expect everyone to stay here forever necessarily. We want them to travel and go see other places but come back to where your roots are and build a growing state that’s got increasing needs into the future. So, we'll be working with Health Minister Tim Nicholls as well about delivering that increased workforce that we know we’re going to need over the next few years.
I’ll hand over to Nick Klomp now, the Vice-Chancellor. Thanks for having us here, Nick.
NICK KLOMP: Thanks. Thank you, I’m Nick Klomp, Vice-Chancellor and President of CQ University. CQ University is delighted about this cross-government announcement today of locating the Queensland Academy of Health Sciences here in Rockhampton. And, you know, almost on behalf of the community I want to congratulate Jason and JP and our local members here, Donna and Glen, for recognising the importance of workforce in the regions. It’s one of the things that is top of mind for everyone that lives here. It’s top of mind for businesses and communities, and no discipline is more important perhaps than the health disciplines.
CQ University, we provide graduates, we train graduates in a whole range of health disciplines, from the regional medical pathway, nurses, doctors, psychologists, oral health, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, paramedics, and I could keep on going. We can’t produce enough graduates. That’s how important it is in the region. And this announcement of the Queensland Academy of Health Sciences helps build aspiration for people that are thinking they would like to get a head start in their studies, they’d like a career in health sciences. And CQ University just stands ready to work in partnership with the schools, with the state on what can we do to use this academy to really prioritise the potential of health careers in the region.
It's really exciting. We need all the graduates in health science we can get, and, of course, CQ University recognises our obligation to help produce those graduates. So, a great day for health sciences.
DONNA KIRKLAND: Thank you. So, what we see today is the coming together of a number of stakeholders, different levels of Government, and that in itself speaks to the need for regional health services in our area. So very excited about this announcement today. And I want to continue to just reiterate that 70 per cent of the people who study in the regions stay in the regions. And that’s what we are wanting out of this. We’ve just been next door speaking to some of our doctors to be – four of those from Rockhampton, another from Gladstone – all with aspirations to continue to stay here in the regions to be of service to our community.
And so it will be that Grades 10, 11 and 12 right across Central Queensland will be able to access the Health Services Academy. This is a great outcome, and as the Member for Rockhampton and certainly Assistant Minister for Central Queensland I welcome this funding here today.
GLEN KELLY: Glen Kelly, Member for Mirani. Well today what an announcement. I’m a great believer in education and keeping people in the bush from where they grow up. And just visiting in next door here and seeing the students of the future, our doctors of the future who have to study for seven years – seven years to become a doctor – that’s dedication for you. That really shows that these young people – teenagers coming into adults – are so focused on helping people with health issues and other things that might appear in their life.
Today it’s a great honour to have Jason Clare, our Federal Education Minister. And obviously we’ve got Nick here, which we’ve seen so many times of late, and we have JP and obviously Donna Kirkland. It’s a great honour this for regional Queensland because if just keeps us focused on how important we are. And the doctors of the next generation, they’re just next door here, and with this announcement of $80 million to support these ones just next door and the coming on is so important to us. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: So just on the funding, will that carry through regardless of the outcome of the federal election?
CLARE: Certainly, if the Albanese Government is returned that money will be delivered, and we’ll work with JP and the team to make sure that this school is built over the course of the first term, I think it is, of your Government. I can’t speak for if we’re not returned.
JOURNALIST: And so, the $80 million, was that just Federal funding?
CLARE: That’s a Federal contribution. The State Government will make an important contribution as well. We’re going to work really closely with Nick and the team at the University. There’s the potential for co-location here at the University. We’ve just got to go through the details of that to see what might be possible. If that’s possible, that’s great because young people going to school on university grounds get a chance to see what life is like once you go to university before you even get there.
The other thing that makes this special is that there’s the potential to earn credits while you’re doing your studies at high school for the degree or for the diploma that you do once you leave high school and start a health science course, whether it’s a TAFE course or whether it’s a university degree.
JOURNALIST: And why did the Government see this as a priority, and was there a lot of legwork bring this to fruition?
CLARE: Well, JP’s a former dentist – he’s good at pulling teeth! This is honestly a classic example of great teamwork. To get things done in this country it requires Australian Governments to work together – Commonwealth Governments and State Governments. Forget political parties; it’s about the people, it’s about what does a community need. This community needs more doctors, it needs more nurses, it needs more ambos, it needs more health professionals. And if we work together, we can get this done.
JOURNALIST: And will this benefit students as well as the teachers and, if so, how so?
CLARE: Will it benefit the students?
JOURNALIST: Will it benefit the community as well sorry?
CLARE: I think it benefits the community. The ultimate goal here is that Rockhampton has more health professionals so that people who live in Rocky and call it home – my grandmother was born and raised in Rocky – have the health services they need and the health services that they deserve.
Do you want to jump in?
LANGBROEK: Well, look, I think there’s no doubt that it’s going to benefit teachers as well. It comes up with the university. When it comes to university and rankings, the more that you can have offerings at a university with local students it’s going to benefit lecturers, tutors and enhance the reputation of one of our finest universities. We’ve got nine in Queensland out of 40 nationally, and we want our universities to be seen as amongst the best in the country. And this is only going to help CQU as well as the students who are going to be here to benefit, as well as the local community.
ENDS