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Record of Proceedings, 16 October 2025
It is a great pleasure to speak on this bill today, which was introduced by my colleague the Hon. John-Paul Langbroek, Minister for Education here in the great state of Queensland. He is not only the Minister for Education this term; this is his second time as Minister for Education. There is a reason the honourable minister is the Minister for Education for a second time: he does a great job. He does a great job for all Queensland students, all Queensland families and all Queensland teachers and schools. I thank him for his recent visit to the Scenic Rim electorate to see some of the facilities we have there.
Minister Langbroek is a terrific asset to the Department of Education and I say to the minister— through you, of course, Deputy Speaker—that if he keeps up this work he will be regarded as one of the best education ministers this state has ever seen. He is only perhaps behind the Hon. Jack Pizzey, who was a great coalition minister for education some 50 or 60 years ago. He oversaw a massive expansion in the state schooling system here in Queensland, including Beaudesert, Boonah and other parts of the region.
Mr Lister: He was so good, they made him premier.
Mr KRAUSE: I will take that interjection from the member for Southern Downs. Thank you, member for Southern Downs. Thank you, Minister Langbroek, for bringing this bill to the House. I take issue with one of the comments from the member for Mansfield whilst acknowledging the opposition’s support for the bill; that is, she took issue with the fact that we have brought forward a policy to reduce red tape for teachers. There should always be processes in place to reduce the administrative burden on teachers in our system, particularly after 10 years of Labor. How could you criticise the minister for bringing forward a policy that was necessary after 10 years of Labor and their inaction in dealing with some of the issues that are being dealt with in this bill. We heard from quite a few members opposite that this bill was in the parliament last term but it expired. That is how important it was for them. They brought it forward but did not pass it before the election. It was left to our Minister for Education to bring it forward and pass these important reforms. I will not cop members of the opposition criticising us for doing what we are doing here because they did not do it.
Teachers are a very important part of our society. That is why this bill is important to the education system here in Queensland. Teachers shape society, they shape children’s outlook and potential, and in that way they are a very important part of our societal fabric. I have no hesitation in saying that my mum was a teacher, my brother is a teacher and I have two cousins who are teachers. It is in our family. But for some other circumstances it could have been my chosen vocation as well. It is very important, and that is why it is important that we have reforms to make it easier for them to do their job.
That also applies to principals, who manage some very large institutions in the state. Student numbers in some of our larger schools go into the thousands, and the time and effort in dealing with administration in some ways can become a block in terms of doing the things that really need to be done to serve the educational needs of our children. I have heard this many times from principals and teachers as I consult with them in the Scenic Rim electorate when going to visit schools to see what they are doing and hear what the issues are. That is something that has come up various times over the years, so it is good to see those reforms in this bill.
I mentioned the minister’s visit earlier this year. When he visited the Scenic Rim electorate we met with stakeholders at the Woodstock facility at Tamborine, which is part of the Youth Enterprise Trust. It is being utilised as an alternative education site by Beaudesert State High School, Yarrabilba State Secondary College, Flagstone State Community College and I think a couple of others as well.
Mr Langbroek: Park Ridge.
Mr KRAUSE: Park Ridge as well; thank you, Minister. You have a better memory than I do sometimes. Thank you for visiting. The important thing that came out of that day was the importance of having alternative sites and activities for certain cohorts of students. We also visited Boonah State High School. I know some of the reforms in this bill are matters that I have discussed with the principal and staff there on other occasions. We heard all about the great things that are happening at Boonah State High School in supporting not only the whole school but the entire community. Then we moved on to Roadvale State School. It is a very small school with only a few dozen students but it is one that is a longstanding part of that community and it is doing the job well for them. We have a lot of little schools and some bigger ones as well. We got a real cross-section that day, so I appreciate the minister’s visit. I am aware that the minister has met with the QTU on multiple occasions in relation to ongoing negotiations about their awards and conditions. I appreciate that the minister has done that, and I will continue to listen to the concerns of teachers as they come to me as well. It is good that in those discussions we can point to the reforms that are being made through this bill. Even though it has been a few months since the bill went through the committee process, these reforms will become part of the law when the bill is passed by this House.
I want to touch on the issue that was quite prominent during the committee process—that is, extending the age eligibility for home education registration to 18 years. This has been a concern for a number of people in the Scenic Rim electorate so it is good to see the change is being made. I know there are other concerns, so I encourage people who want to raise issues in relation to homeschooling to bring them to me and the government for consideration.
The bill is reducing the administrative burden on state school principals by enabling them to delegate the suspension issues to another member of staff. That is just common sense and it is great to see that it is occurring. It is the same with the streamlining of the student enrolment process and the mandatory use of transfer notes. The bill is also clarifying the provision of information by principals or governing bodies of non-state schools to the Department of Education. This is all common sense and is designed to reduce red tape. We are streamlining administrative issues to make it easier for principals and the people they work with to focus on their main job, which is shaping our students through education, mentorship and all of the other work they do in supporting our children as they move through the education system.
I thank the minister for his work. He is well on the way to becoming the best education minister Queensland has ever seen, apart from perhaps Jack Pizzey. I look forward to welcoming the minister to the Scenic Rim electorate again after this bill has been passed to continue the consultation and hear feedback about things that can be improved in the Scenic Rim electorate and across the broader Queensland education system.