Public Education Statement

Education is the cornerstone for our common future, prosperity and happiness. It is imperative that it should be of the highest quality, accessible to and effective for all.

Education provides the foundation for a start in life: a community of friends and acquaintances; the skills, knowledge and discipline necessary for successful participation in the workforce; frames of reference for making sense of present and future demands; and a continuing interest in the fundamentals of learning - curiosity, investigation, rational analysis, considered conclusions, open and honest discussion. We share the experience of formal education as an induction to social behaviour and to the cohesion on which our society depends for its quality.

In times of uncertainty, instability and change, the importance of education for all is magnified. This is particularly true at present. The idea that we are moving towards a knowledge-based global society is not empty rhetoric, but a fact we face daily. At the same time we are confronting a swiftly rising disparity in resources between groups in our society, a division which is having a serious impact on the opportunities and quality of life for a significant proportion of the population. It is not just the wealthy few who should have access to the necessary ongoing opportunities that education provides, but everyone.

Public Education is Essential

Our system of public education is right at the heart of meeting the challenges embodied in the brief statement above. Public education enrols more than 70 per cent of all students and caters for all comers, regardless of their background or economic circumstances. Public education is essential because it:

• is vital to the future economic, social, cultural and intellectual development of our nation and all its citizens;
• is for everyone;
• provides everyone with the opportunity to shape their own future;
• enriches and strengthens our local communities;
• is the basis of an informed, active, fair and democratic society;
• draws people together, and creates greater tolerance and appreciation of differences; and
• values our shared experience and our common good.

• is free;
• provides the best possible education for all;
• includes and values everyone irrespective of difference in race, religion, class, ability, gender or geographic location;
• bridges the gap in advantage and provides students of all ages with a fair share of resources;
• is adequately and fully funded by state and commonwealth governments at a level which reflects the value we place on every child and young person in our society;
• is available locally and relates to the life of local communities;
• provides for lifelong learning and for second chance learning;
• promotes tolerance and inclusiveness;
• respects inherited values while instilling a desire for new solutions;
• has teachers and education workers who are well trained, well paid, respected and secure in their employment;
• is given priority as an essential responsibility of governments; and
• will be here for future generations.