Latest news with #AdrianPiccoli
Sydney Morning Herald
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Selective schools are a NSW educational experiment that needs a revamp
Attempting to change entrenched ideas about education can be Herculean and sometimes thankless task. Consider Newington College's plan to gradually admit girls to the 162-year-old institution and the legal pushback by Old Boys who believe going co-educational is a betrayal of school tradition. Now the Herald 's chief reporter Jordan Baker has shone the spotlight on iniquities posed by NSW's selective public schools as government hangs on to a system that has grown into one potentially damaging children's development by locking them in to excessive tutoring. The madness and sadness of subjecting children to such institutionalised stress was exposed once and for all earlier this month when riot police were called to quell crowds at the 2025 selective schools test conducted in non-conducive mega testing centres around Sydney where the bulk of the state's 17,559 year 6s vied for 4200 places. The resultant omnishambles also forced the cancellation of the exams for some students. The selective school mania is a NSW speciality. Victoria has four, Western Australia has one, but NSW boasts 42 (some fully, some partially). A recent policy change reserves 20 per cent of places for Indigenous and disadvantaged students, and those with a disability, but not all places are filled because the students do not meet the minimum academic threshhold. In the 1980s, NSW had seven selective schools but both Coalition and Labor governments pushed the selective system to win votes and halt the flight of middle-class families to private schools that ironically partly came courtesy of Commonwealth and state governments' funding polices. They failed on both accounts, even as research found children attending academically selective schools gained no advantage and the Gonski Report alerted Australia to huge inequities in education years ago. By taking top-performing students out of comprehensive public schools and turning selective schools into a prize, governments created what parents now perceive as a two-tier system of premium and second-rate public schooling. That said, until recently, the selective public school system had served our state well over the years. But public disquiet had been mounting amid the sometimes-exploitative coaching industry cashing in on parental aspirations. Now even former Coalition education ministers Adrian Piccoli and his successor, Rob Stokes, believe the time has come to rethink the state's selective school system. 'It's a bit like we've created an addiction to create specialist schools, and once we started we never weaned ourselves off,' Stokes said. Politicians must have the courage to dismantle the selective system and provide the kind of quality replacement education that meets the expectations and aspirations of all parents.
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Clock is probably ticking for Littleproud': NSW Nationals MPs criticise ‘distasteful' move by federal counterparts
Current and former NSW Nationals MPs have shot down their federal counterparts move to split from the Coalition, with one saying it was a 'distasteful' move that would diminish rural issues in the halls of power. Former state deputy leader Adrian Piccoli also backed Liberal leader Sussan Ley's decision not to acquiesce to the federal Nationals' demands, saying she was right not to lock in a position on policies so quickly. But another senior member, who spoke to Guardian Australia on condition of anonymity, said he wasn't surprised by the split and that it speaks to 'a wider problem about the way that the Liberal party and the National party interact' at the state and federal levels. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The federal Nationals dropped a political bombshell on Tuesday, revealing they would split from the Liberals after the disastrous election defeat. It came after opposition leader Sussan Ley refused to immediately sign up to the country party's policy demands or grant Nationals MPs in shadow cabinet the freedom to break ranks. The policy demands included having the Coalition re-commit to positions on nuclear power, a $20bn regional future fund, breaking-up powers for supermarkets and reliable phone and internet access in the bush. One senior NSW Nationals MP told Guardian Australia on condition of anonymity that the timing of the demands and split was 'distasteful' given Ley's mother had just died, and there was little opportunity given for further discussion. The MP also argued the split was a 'poor decision' given it would diminish the Nationals relevance and its power to advocate for rural communities. 'I think the clock is now probably ticking for Littleproud,' they said. Piccoli, a former Nationals deputy leader and education minister during the Berejiklian government, and who quit politics in 2017, said the split was not a good idea. 'I think they're stronger together than they are separated,' he said, adding it was also important for the Nationals to still keep their separate identity. Piccoli said Ley was right to not acquiesce to the Nationals' demands so quickly. 'Sussan Ley was right [in saying] 'we've just lost an election. We need to reconsider all of this, not lock in our position on day one',' Piccoli said. But another current NSW Nationals MP said he thinks Ley should have agreed to the federal Nationals' demands, given they did 'reasonably well' in the election. 'We're the ones that basically saved the furniture, and yet they're still trying to determine policy positions outside of us,' he said. He also took aim at the NSW Coalition saying the federal split reflects a wider issue. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion He said the Liberal party often uses the 'bigger party' argument to push back on Nationals' demands. He said he agrees with comments made by former prime minister John Howard in the wake of the split, that the Coalition resolves policy differences via 'plenty of trust', and while 'you never get everything you want in a partnership' but that the National party is 'entitled to have some wins'. However, the MP said he didn't think was the approach being taken in NSW. 'I think that maturity and approach to a coalition isn't what you see from [NSW Liberal leader] Mark Speakman and [deputy Liberal leader] Natalie Ward, and that obviously creates disquiet,' the MP said. On Tuesday NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders, released a joint statement with Liberal leader Mark Speakman, saying: 'In NSW the Liberals and National enjoy a strong working relationship.' NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman and Nationals leader Dugald Saunders were contacted for comment.
