Media release
Member for Fairfax and Federal Leader of the Palmer United Party, Clive Palmer MP, has come out in support of a call by the president of the Sunshine Coast branch of the Queensland Association of State School Principals, Steve Logan, for the Newman Government to give more autonomy to local schools.
This follows a joint report by Camp Australia and the Australian Primary Principals Association.
“Unfortunately the Newman State Government continues to neglect the needs of schools on the Sunshine Coast and in other regional areas of Queensland,” Mr Palmer said.
“His centralised, bureaucratic approach to the funding and running of schools is having a negative impact on the education of the next generation of Queenslanders.”
Mr Palmer went on to say that the primary, secondary and higher educational outcomes of all Queensland students were being threatened by continuing state government neglect of schools, as well as planned federal government cutbacks to higher education funding and increases to tuition costs.
Mr Palmer stressed that the provision of high quality, affordable education was one of the most important responsibilities of any government.
“Education should be seen as an investment in Australia’s future and not as a short term political cost,” Mr Palmer said.
“The Newman Government needs to listen to the experts in this area and allow principals and teachers more freedom to make decisions at the local level, rather than be totally directed by Brisbane-based bureaucrats.
“Such initiatives would help to lift the performance of schools, which recent research indicates is slipping in relation to the rest of the world.”