State School Teachers' Union of WA

G’day everyone.

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which the Conference is taking place today, and I pay my respects to elders, past and present.

I’m really sorry I can’t be there today in person but thank you so much for the opportunity to talk to you today.

More importantly, thank you for what you do every day. 

And the tens of thousands of teachers just like you that you represent.

You're here because you believe in the power of education.

And so do I.

To change lives and to change countries.

And you're here because you believe in the power of public education.

And so do I.

I'm a product of it, and proud of it.

There's really only one job in politics that I've ever wanted, and this is it.

And there's one reason more than anything else that I wanted to do it, to do what we're doing right now.

Fixing the funding of our schools.

Not just because it's the right thing to do, but because of what it will do.

Western Australia was the first state I signed an agreement with last year to get this done.

And that money is flowing right now.

Since then, every state and territory has signed up.

It means $16.5 billion in extra Commonwealth funding to public schools right across the country over the next decade and more after that.

It's the biggest new investment in public education by an Australian Government ever.

More than 50 years ago, Whitlam talked about funding schools based on need.

More than a decade ago, David Gonski produced a formula to make it happen.

This is the money that makes it real.

It won't just change lives, its impact will ricochet through generations.

You know that because you see what education does every day.

You know that if a child finishes school, their kids are more likely to finish school too, and then go on to TAFE or to university.

That’s what education does.

I said a minute ago that this money is already rolling out here in WA, and we're already starting to see the impact of it.

Last week, I was in Yale Primary School in Thornlie.

There, they are using some of this funding to boost school attendance rates.

It's part of the Complex Behaviour Support Coordinators Initiative that we're funding.

A full-time coordinator at the school, building a whole school approach to attendance.

And the early evidence is that attendance is already up at Yale by about 10 per cent.

That's just one example of what we're using this funding for.

It's also funding the Small Group Tuition Initiative.

Catch up tutoring.

More individualised support for students who start behind or fall behind, to catch up and keep up.

One of the things that you asked us to tie this funding to.

That's now rolling out this year to 350 WA public schools.

It's just another example of what this funding does and can do.

And what your advocacy does.

A big part of why this is happening is because of you, because when others gave up, you didn't.

There's more to do to make our education system better and fairer. 

To train more teachers and to make sure they have the skills they need to succeed.

To cut down the admin and give you more time to teach.

Why you became a teacher in the first place.

There's more to do to build respect - in the classroom and across the country - for the most important job in the world.

The most important profession in the world.

Teaching.

But today, I just wanted to say thanks.

Thank you for everything that you do.

I'm really looking forward to working with Sabine Winton, the new Minister for Education here in WA.

And I'm really looking forward to continuing to work with you.

To build that better and fairer education system that we all want and that our country needs.

Have a great conference.