Gilding the Lily
EDUCATION Minister Jeremy Rockliff (The Examiner, October 28) says that we should prepare for an influx of teachers that will boost education in regional and hard-to-staff schools.
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Gilding the lily is a characteristic of our current government, but unfortunately it does nothing to lift the spirits and morale of those working in our public schools.
Stating that the highest increase in teacher numbers in recent years was 122 full-time equivalent teachers between 2015-16 and 2016-17, the minister does not mention his government's decision the year before in March 2014 to sack 256 full time equivalent teachers in 2014-2015.
Our high schools are still reeling from this action and they have only received additional teachers after agreeing to take on additional year 11-12 course responsibilities.
As for the expected influx of teachers into our hard-to-staff regional schools the current incentive package is insulting.
It provides $2759 upon commencement and $2759 upon completing three years continuous employment and only applies to Cape Barren, Flinders and King Island District High Schools, Rosebery District and Mountain Heights Schools, Redpa, Strahan and Zeehan Primary Schools.
Victorian teachers who are prepared to relocate to their bush or teach in difficult to staff metropolitan schools receive an additional $9000 a year for three years.
That's a difference of $21482 over the three years. One of our state's biggest challenges is convincing more Generation Zs that the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side of Bass Strait.
As a first step the government needs to provide what is being offered interstate.
Terry Polglase, Lindisfarne.
Other possible sites
WOULD Corrections Minister Elise Archer please publish the names of the other nine possible sites for the luxury maximum security prison, and explain why tiny, quiet Westbury was chosen.
We have no hospital, bank, buses, taxis and no fully manned police station.
Why do we actually need a prison in the North-West when I don't believe there has been one since convict times.
William Fisher, Westbury.
More explanation needed
In drawing the dots between power price hikes and increases in intermittent wind and solar power we see a close correlation which cries out for more explanation.
It's also now very clear that allowing more intermittent sources into the grid won't work without lot's of pumped storage and batteries.
No one can deny that the cost of these, together with those for strengthening transmission lines, must be treated as one package if we're going have a valid cost comparison with generation from fossil and nuclear fuels.
But we also want to reduce emissions. A carbon tax which favors wind and solar looks more attractive by the day.
Gordon Thurlow, Launceston.