Wednesday, 24 June 2026

I rise to make a contribution to the debate on the education bill. I acknowledge the work of the committee in examining the bill, and I am proud to say I was a member of the education committee in the last parliament and am quite familiar with the purpose
of this bill. The Education (General Provisions) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 was referred to us but went no further. It was not debated when it got back to the House.

I note that the Labor Party have been very critical of this bill, in spite of the fact they have said they will support it and have made no statement of reservation in the report. I remind them that we have this bill now because their bill was a dud. It fixes a number of the things the last bill incorporated.

Some of the criticisms could be attributed to being nothing less than an attack or a broadside on homeschooling. I acknowledge Free2Homeschool, particularly their two leaders Amanda Bartle and the irrepressible Patricia Fitzgerald. They taught me and other members of the committee a great deal about homeschooling. I make it clear that those who choose to homeschool their kids are making a very valid choice, and the results speak for themselves. I have come across many students who are being homeschooled in my own electorate of Southern Downs and they seem to do awfully well academically. I put that down to the ability of the parents to ensure the learning is adapted to their needs.

The reasons parents decide to homeschool their children are manifold and various. I can tell the House with absolute certainty that a large proportion of them first decided to undertake homeschooling because of the state school system under the previous government. That is a fact. I am sure that there would be members on both sides of the House who, when being honest, would say that is what homeschooling parents have told them. A lot of parents found their kids were afraid to go to school 1948
Education and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 24 Jun 2026 because of things like bad behaviour more generally, the use of drugs, violence and bullying. That is a tragedy and will require ongoing work. The Crisafulli government is genuinely working to make that happen.

Under the previous bill, the homeschooling community vehemently objected to the insistence they strictly adhere to the national curriculum. I am glad to say that has been omitted from this bill. That brings me to another point of concern for many parents: the national curriculum does not reflect the way they feel their kids should be learning, besides much else. To its great credit, this bill has recognised the deficiency in the bill which Labor brought before this parliament in 2024 but never brought on to debate. That bill would have forced parents to adopt the national curriculum or suffer punitive consequences. Also, the bill did nothing to enshrine the equality of students undergoing homeschooling and those attending a regular school in the sense that an 18-year-old can maintain their student status until 31 December in the year they turn 18. That was not the case before. This bill provides that, which I know the homeschooling community will welcome.

I note that in my electorate of Southern Downs I have quite a few independent schools. They, like state schools, are subject to the capriciousness of the environment—floods, fires et cetera—and it is important that this bill clarify the maintenance of accreditation for non-state schools which have to shift their site, which is usually in response to something like a natural disaster. That may sound like a small thing, but it makes a big difference. Many of these smaller independent schools are not flush with
funds to comply or have lawyers to work on their cases and so forth. They need an act which supports them, and this one certainly will do that.

This bill is important to me not just because of my history in dealing with the previous bill and this one—and I acknowledge the committee for the work they have done on it this time—but also because education is important to me. I am sure I speak for every member in this House too.

There are 45 schools in my electorate of Southern Downs. In order to emphasise the point, I want every one of those schools to understand that I know them and appreciate them and that this bill is to support them. In the Southern Downs Regional Council area, there is: Allora P-10 state school; Amiens State School; and Applethorpe State School, which is also known as ‘the coolest school’ in Queensland quite literally because it has the coolest temperatures in Queensland. I know that they rejoice in that title. We have: Ballandean State School; Broadwater State School; Dalveen State School; Freestone State School; Glen Aplin State School; Glennie Heights State School, which is actually based in Warwick; Greenlands State School; Karara State School; Killarney P-10 State School, a great school; Leyburn State School; Maryvale State School; and Murray’s Bridge State School. I went there to cast my vote and was a scrutineer at the last election. Murray’s Bridge State School, which is on the way to Killarney, usually has about 15 or 20 kids enrolled—so good on you.

There is Pozieres State School and Severnlea State School, which my two boys went to when they were in primary school. It is another fine little school with a couple of teachers, a few dozen kids and a wonderful history steeped in the apples and grapes of the area. It is on their shirt. We have: Sta

nthorpe State High School; Stanthorpe State School; Thulimbah State School; Warwick Central State School; Warwick East State School; Warwick State High School; Warwick West State School; Wheatvale State School; and Yangan State School.

In the Goondiwindi part of my electorate, there is: Goondiwindi State High School; Goondiwindi State Primary School; Inglewood State School, which is a great P-10 school that has served the community well for a long time; Kindon State School; Kioma State School; Talwood State School; Texas P-10 State School; and Yelarbon State School. In the Toowoomba Regional Council part of my electorate, we have the Cecil Plains State School, which is a P-9 school, and Millmerran State School. I was in Cecil Plains on the weekend with the Lions Club and that school is an integral part of the community, as all of these schools are for their respective communities.

In the way of Catholic schools, we have: Assumption College in Warwick; St Maria Goretti School in Inglewood, which is a little Catholic primary school which I have attended on a few occasions and enjoyed consorting with the leadership, students and parents there; St Joseph’s School in Stanthorpe, where my own two boys go and my four-year-old daughter will be going for prep next year; St Mary’s School in Goondiwindi; St Mary’s School in Warwick; and St Patrick’s School in Allora, which is another
small Catholic school.

We have independent schools in Southern Downs as well, including Border Rivers Christian College and The School of Total Education, where I went last Thursday to watch their school play called Aristocats. It involved every grade from prep through to the end of primary school, and I congratulate them on a fantastic and really humorous presentation. There is The SCOTS College, which is a fine school with a long history in the area, and Warwick Christian College.

The importance of this bill is not lost on me. The importance of education is not lost on me. The importance of administering education, particularly in those small independent schools and Catholic schools, is to enable them to focus on what they do best: educating the kids. Lastly, I refer to the students in the gallery. Welcome to Parliament House. It is always great to see students in the gallery.We are talking about an education bill, which will be great for you when you go back to your class.

Thank you.