Tuesday, 4 March 2025

Bail laws

Jess WILSON (Kew) (14:11): My question is to the Minister for Education. The minister stated that he did not find out about the enhanced bail supervision and support trial until reading the Herald Sun on Saturday morning. A Victorian government spokesperson responded, supporting the implementation of the program on Saturday afternoon. Why did the minister support putting high-risk youth offenders in schools on Saturday afternoon?

Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC) (14:12): Can I say at the outset that my focus as education minister is on the hundreds of thousands of students who every day put on a uniform and go to school to learn and live a life of purpose, as well as the safety of their schoolteachers. As I have made very clear, kids with ankle bracelets do not belong in mainstream school settings. As I have equally made clear, they do belong in alternative education settings, for three reasons. Education is the most powerful weapon to combat disadvantage; alternative pathways, vocational education and training, smaller class sizes and a wider and more flexible curriculum are the pathways for these kids. On this side of the chamber we get how education changes lives. We understand what a powerful weapon it is, and that is why we will always focus on education at the heart of reform.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister is required to be factual, and I think he is misleading the house.

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order.

Ben CARROLL: I have got a statement here, and it is a factual statement, from Tina King, the Victorian branch president of the Australian Principals Federation. She says:

[QUOTE AWAITING VERIFICATION]

The Australian Principals Federation applauds the decision announced today by the Minister for Education to discontinue the pilot program that places repeat offenders on bail in mainstream schools with ankle monitoring devices. This decision reflects a strong stance by the education minister and a pragmatic approach that prioritises the safety and wellbeing of students and staff.

And that is what we do. We will prioritise the safety of our staff and our students.

We have more than 1 million students in our system; 660,000 students call the public education system their home. We have just announced $2.5 billion for public education from the Commonwealth. We know the single most powerful weapon to combat disadvantage, to turn a life around, is education. But it has got to be the right education setting. It has got to be small class sizes. It has got to be a wide, tailored curriculum – you are either in vocational education, in training or out trying to get a job – and that is what we will do. As a former Minister for Youth Justice, I know and I have seen firsthand how our flexible learning options across our Education State change lives. That is why we have that approach and it is why it will change lives.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister is clearly debating the question. It was a very narrow question about these youth offenders being announced by the government on the weekend to be in mainstream schools.

The SPEAKER: There is no point order.

Ben CARROLL: Most of these kids that will be subject to electronic monitoring are disengaged from education and disengaged from school. We want them re-engaged with education. We want to make sure that they have a curriculum that is flexible. We want to make sure they get intensive wraparound support. Our flexible learning options do some things that the mainstream system cannot do in terms of wraparound training, wraparound support, alternative pathways and a wider curriculum for them. That is why everyone in the Education State under the Allan Labor government will have a pathway. We know what their side is. It is cuts, it is closures and it is making sure they do everything they can to drive education down.

Jess WILSON (Kew) (14:16): Minister, principals were briefed about this program last week. How can the minister claim that principals were briefed on this program last week but he learned about it in the Herald Sun?

Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC) (14:16): Electronic monitoring on bail is being led by the minister in the other place, the Minister for Youth Justice. As part of that, the department of justice work with the Department of Education and do briefings with a range of stakeholders. As soon as I learned that government schools were potentially being placed with electronic monitoring, I stepped in and stopped it. You only have to read the statements that have been placed by a range of stakeholders to say this is the right decision. I know the work that we have done as a government on building the Education State up: making sure we have got record investment from the Commonwealth, more schools built in this state than anywhere else in Australia, the best NAPLAN results, the best attendance rates, the best student-to-teacher ratios and First Nations attendance leading the nation right here in Victoria. This is the Education State; it always will be under the Allan Labor government.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, it was: why was the Minister for Education not briefed on this as principals were?

The SPEAKER: The minister has concluded his answer.