While recognition of our top teachers and more opportunities to up-skill is a positive development, what Tasmanian teachers (and students) need most is certainty and investment in our schools.

Let’s not forget Mr McKim has an agenda to blindly close schools to fix his budget black hole and he has taken a slash-and-burn approach to school budgets. These substantial cuts will come into effect in just 6 days and will see schools reduce subject choice, support for children with additional needs and less resourcing for general learning programs.

These are not the actions of a Minister who genuinely values education.

Only the Liberals have a position of no forced school closures together with a policy to strongly invest in education and our schools.

By finding alternative savings in the budget, we have established a $60 million Education Investment and School Retention Fund, which can be used to keep open schools that Labor and the Greens want to forcibly close as well as resourcing the first stages of our plan to extend Tasmanian high schools to year 12.

Just like forcibly closing schools, culling teachers at the Skills Institute is not the right way for Mr McKim to plug his budget black hole.

We have estimated that around $30 million in efficiencies could be made, without sacking teachers, by finally removing the costly duplication caused by Labor’s failed Tasmania Tomorrow mess. This would preserve the capacity of the Government training provider to deliver on the skills training needs of Tasmania.

Tasmania only needs one Government training provider.

A majority Liberal Hodgman Government would end the duplication created by dumping TAFE in favour of two separate unknown entities – The Skills Institute and the Tasmanian Polytechnic – which have so confused the business and training community.

We would move to a single entity – a modern day TAFE which would be more responsive to the needs of industry and save $30 million over the forward estimates without a reduction in teacher numbers.

A split system has resulted in an inefficient, top heavy management structure with significant duplication that has led to wide-spread industry and community confusion.

The Green-Labor Government has a habit of making savings by sacking frontline staff instead of waste – we have seen it in health, policing and in education.

In contrast the Liberals have identified $30 million in efficiencies by removing duplication in the VET system, and savings of up to $200 million in alternative savings across Government without impacting on essential services and jobs.

Revelations that the panel charged by Nick McKim to develop criteria for shutting schools was unable to agree on the criteria, demonstrates there is uncertainty and conflict over the recommendations.

The Tasmanian State Parents and Friends President told ABC radio this morning that she refused to vote on how many enrolments should trigger the closure of a school.

Despite disagreement, enrolments were put forward as a key criteria for closure in the report handed to Mr McKim this week. Importantly, the report did not give any indication that the recommendations were anything but agreed.

Parents should also be concerned that student outcomes have been ignored and are not part of the criteria. This proves that closing schools is not about improving educational outcomes – it is all about plugging the Government’s budget black hole.

It is clear nothing much has changed since last year. The Government is still desperate to forcibly close schools. The panel’s recommendations simply give Mr McKim the cover he was after.

Schools will again be made to justify their existence against uniform criteria that has already been set, with McKim dressing up the process as ‘consultation’.

Sadly, Ms Giddings and Mr McKim’s parties have brazenly abandoned their promise to not pursue school closures without community agreement.

Only the Liberals have a position of no forced school closures, and a policy to actually invest in education.

By finding alternative savings in the budget, we have established a $60 million Education Investment and School Retention Fund, which can be used to keep open schools that Labor and the Greens want to forcibly close.

If Nick McKim accepts the recommendations in the School Viability Reference Group Report, schools will have it confirmed by August of this year if the Minister has them in his sights for closure.

In a case of déjà vu, ‘consultations’ with those communities against already set criteria would conclude by late September, less than two months later.

And if they are unsuccessful in justifying their existence, schools will have their closures confirmed by December this year.

It’s clear that nothing much has changed from the botched process last year. If Mr McKim accepts the recommendations, school communities are going to be told by a uniform formula they are slated for closure, and then given just a few months to argue why they should stay open.

Importantly, we know that the real reason that the Government wants to forcibly shut schools is budgetary, not educationally based.

Labor and the Greens have wrecked the budget by overspending to the tune of more than $1 billion, now they want to make students and local communities pay the price.

Student outcomes is not one of the criteria schools are to be judged against, nor are social and economic impacts on local communities of closures.

Only the Liberal Party has a policy of no forced school closures.

Only a majority Liberal Hodgman Government is prepared to prioritise education and invest in our children. We have already announced a $60 million Education Investment and School Retention Fund and have a policy to address the worst year 12 completion rates in the nation by extending high schools.

Last year Nick McKim tried to forcibly shut down 20 Tasmanian schools, now there are up to 48 schools in the Minister’s sights.

Recommendations released today on closure criteria show that based on enrolments, the number of schools in the firing line has more than doubled, and still there is not a single mention of student outcomes in the criteria for shutting schools.

Of the 48 schools that don’t meet the proposed enrolment criteria 18 are the same schools the Minister’s cruelly announced as part of budget cuts last year.

This is a cruel blow to those 18 school communities who had thought they had saved their school last year.

It’s clear that nothing has changed from the botched process last year – school communities are going to be told by a formula they are slated for closure, and then given just a few months to argue why they should stay open.

It also has to be questioned how genuine future consultation with schools will be, if criteria have already been established. And importantly, we know that the real reason that the Government wants to forcibly shut schools is budgetary, not educationally based.

Last year when he had his first attempt at shutting 20 schools, a deluded Mr McKim claimed he was engaging in “a model consultation process”.

By setting criteria before future consultation Mr McKim is again demonstrating he is prepared to put saving a few bucks before students welfare.

Only the Liberal Party has a policy of no forced school closures.

Instead of investing in schools, Mr McKim is determined to close them. Instead of addressing student resource needs he is slashing school budgets.

Only a majority Liberal Hodgman Government is prepared to prioritise education and invest in our children. We have already announced a $60 million Education Investment and School Retention Fund and have a policy to address the worst year 12 completion rates in the nation by extending high schools to year 12.