Kevin Foley Speaks with Forked Tongue

Nothing here about taking $90 million dollars out of Public School Budgets. How are the kids in Primary School and Secondary School now, going to highly skilled if the State Government plans to take so much money out of individual school budgets. They will have to do a lot of end of education remedial work to make up for all the deficiencies, which will become apparent, long after the horse has bolted.

As for the Premiers Reading Challenge, it will be more and more needed as more and more resources are denied to underfunded school libraries. The reading challenge will be where have all the books gone? The Premiers Be Active Challenge is a poor brother replacement for real money, which was withdrawn last year to support sport and physical exercise at school. In reality it is delegating a program that used to be funded within the school to parents, where physical exercise is documented rather than encouraged within the curriculum.

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SA’s future – education skills and knowledge

June 7, 2007 - Press Release

A plan to prepare the State’s school leavers for highly skilled job opportunities in South Australia is the centrepiece of the Rann Government’s 2007-08 State Budget investment in education.

Treasurer Kevin Foley says the Government has injected an extra $4.7 million to enhance the Trade Schools for the Future initiative, bringing support over the period 2006-07 to 2010-11 to $29.5 million.

“The trade schools will deliver high-end practical trade skills to senior students, preparing the State’s young people for work while they complete their SA Certificate of Education,” Mr Foley says.

“The first three Trade Schools for the Future are being developed this year in northern Adelaide, western Adelaide, and the Eyre and Upper Spencer Gulf regions.

“In addition, the Government has committed to increasing the school leaving age in 2009 to ensure all young people are in school, training or work until they turn 17.

“Overall, the education budget provides, on average, $11 204 for every Government school student.

This represents an increase of $708 per student annually when compared to the 2006-07 budget (or 6.7 per cent).” Mr Foley says.

Highlights of the education and training investment over the next four years include:

* $31.4m for redevelopments and upgrades in 14 more schools and preschools in collaboration with the Australian Government’s Capital Grants Program.
* More than $1m extra for Education Adelaide taking its State Government funding to $5.9m over four years so it can further enhance SA’s education exports and help build Adelaide as an international education hub;
* $3.4 million to upgrade dental teaching facilities at the Gilles Plains TAFE campus;
* $1.225m over four years for the Northern Advanced Manufacturing Industry Group, which will assist with putting skilled workers into the industry.


Treasurer Kevin Foley says it’s a budget tailored to build skills and knowledge.

“Last year’s State Budget featured a massive investment in new education initiatives, including our ‘school to work’ reform program, which included a $54.5m revamp of the Year 12 certificate.

“We have vast job opportunities in the State – and even more on the horizon – with a boom in major mining, defence and construction projects.

“The focus on building skills and having young people ‘learning or earning’ has been unrelenting.

“Since our first day in government, we have made it a priority to have young people in school, training or work, investing in school retention initiatives and raising the school leaving age from 15 to 16.

“We have progressively built on that work through a major review and reform program to update the South Australian Certificate of Education.

“Our Education Works initiative is investing in six brand new super schools and approaches to education that expand subject choices and opportunities for students.

“In the critical early years of education, we are setting up 20 Children’s Centres across the State, bringing together child care, preschool, school, health and family services at the one location.

“In addition, we are rolling out initiatives to improve food choices in school canteens and get children active through the new Premier’s Be Active Challenge.

“The Budget also features a range of innovation and research initiatives to build the State’s knowledge base and help build Adelaide as an education hub.” Mr Foley says.

Initiatives in the 2007-08 Budget include:

* A further $4m over four years for research and development through the Premier’s Science and Research Fund, taking the total program to $16m over four years enabling the SA Government to more strategically invest in environmental, economic, social and health research and development projects; and
* $2.4m over four years to establish the SA headquarters of the Cooperative Research Centre for Seafood and the SA nodes of four other CRCs.
* In addition, $5 million (2006-07) has been allocated for the purchase and initial upgrade of the heritage Stock Exchange building so that it can be developed into a contemporary centre for science.

The upgraded building will house the Royal Institution SA and potentially the Australian Science Media Centre to create a focus for science awareness activities in SA.

Published: Monday 18 June 2007
Source: Government of South Australia website
Contact: Hon Kevin Foley MP treasurer@saugov.sa.gov.au
Related Link: For more information on this press release, please visit the SA goverment's website http://www.premier.sa.gov.au/news.php?id=1717