Mr GREG WARREN (Campbelltown) (12:19): My question is addressed to the Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education in his capacity representing the Minister for Education and Early Learning. Will the Minister update the House on the community response to the Minns Labor Government's decision to ban mobile phones in all public schools?
Mr STEVE WHAN (Monaro—Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education) (12:19): I thank the member for Campbelltown for his question. Everything this Government does in education is about improving student outcomes. We want to give students in our schools the best opportunities. I particularly want them to be able to go on to vocational training or university after school, and they need to be in the best situation to do that. That is why in Labor's time in government the Deputy Premier has done such a great job ensuring that teachers are in front of students in classrooms and that the best possible environments are created for students to learn and thrive. That is exactly why the Minns Labor Government promised to ban mobile phones in all public schools and why it has done it.
Parents were begging the former Liberals-Nationals Government to ban mobile phones. They wrote to the former Minister and presented petitions, one with over 25,000 signatures, yet the former Government ignored them. It also ignored the teachers and the principals. That is symptomatic of the former Government's entire approach to education.
The SPEAKER: The member for Port Macquarie will calm down.
Mr STEVE WHAN: But this Government listened and banned mobile phones, and a year on that decision has been vindicated. A Department of Education survey of around 1,000 public school principals found almost universal support for the Government's decision. Not just that, principals are also reporting that the benefits are overwhelming. Some 81 per cent of them say that students' learning has improved since the ban; 86 per cent say that socialising amongst students has improved; and 87 per cent say that students are less distracted. This should not be a surprise. We all know how distracting mobile phones are. The member for Wahroonga is on his phone at the moment. It must be a real distraction, sitting in the shadow Cabinet and texting Ray Hadley all the time instead of listening to what is going on in the Chamber.
The survey results come on top of anecdotal feedback. I am sure that every member of this place, when they visit their local schools, has heard that anecdotal feedback. My daughter, who is a teacher at Karabar High School in Queanbeyan, has told me that she has noticed students talking to each other, communicating and socialising more in the playground—what a fantastic idea. There has also been anecdotal feedback about less bullying, less disruption and less antisocial behaviour. Some schools are even reporting fewer suspensions and one high school has reported an additional 50 minutes of learning time each day. At Riverstone High School, which the Premier and the Deputy Premier visited on Monday—an excellent area with an excellent local member—principal Rosemary Daubney said that there is far greater engagement in the classrooms. [Extension of time]
Her office looks down on the quadrangle, where she said she used to see students sitting alone at recess looking at their screens. Now there is a lot more noise. They are playing touch football and basketball, socialising and doing more activities in the playground. Ms Daubney also pointed out that this was only possible because of the statewide policy to enforce the ban, which has empowered schools because they know they have the backing of the Government and the department to put this ban in place. I have heard the heckling from members opposite. They still do not support the ban, despite its clear and overwhelming benefits. The member for Hawkesbury said that we do not live in a communist state. She must think we are all communists for putting this ban in place. Wait until she finds out that a lot of members of her party also support the ban. She is in a party room full of communists, apparently. The Government acknowledges that there are some sensible arguments against the ban. Some members have pointed out the benefits of phones and technology, and that phones can be used as teaching tools.
The SPEAKER: I call the member for Coffs Harbour to order for the first time.
Mr STEVE WHAN: But the benefits are well and truly outweighed by the cost to students. They are not worth the distraction and the disengagement, they are not worth the impact on teachers in the classrooms and they are not worth the loss of social interaction. The Government very proudly reports on the benefits of the ban on phones in public schools. This goes hand in hand with the fact that this Government has made sure there are enough teachers in classrooms, which the Opposition let slip appallingly. It led to areas like mine in Queanbeyan, in particular, desperately needing teachers.
The SPEAKER: I remind the member for Terrigal, the member for Myall Lakes, the member for Cronulla and the member for Coffs Harbour that they are on one call to order. The member for Port Macquarie is on two calls to order and the member for Goulburn is on three calls to order. I might have to separate the member for Port Macquarie and the member for Goulburn if they continue to interject.
