Teachers are at the frontline in the fight against many of the social ills that are affecting our society and I find it very troubling that they are often made a scapegoat.

Across the Parkes electorate I have seen nothing but hard-working and dedicated teachers. As a society we should be looking for ways to provide more support for teachers, not place them under unnecessary scrutiny.

Teachers are justifiably angry at the Government’s decision to cap pay increases at 2.5 per cent when inflation is running at 4.5 per cent. I also share their concerns over the introduction a performance-based system, which I fear will discriminate against many of our best teachers who are committed to working with disadvantaged and non-academic children.

What also worries me is that at the very heart of these reforms lie unilateral changes to teachers’ rights that have the potential to erode the high standard of teaching in western NSW.

The decision to overhaul the teacher transfer system will only serve to further disadvantage schools in the electorate already struggling to attract and retain high-quality teachers.

Governments need to spend more time working with our teachers and less time looking for new ways to castigate them.

Mark Coulton

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR PARKES