Issue 5 Centenary Special Edition

Differential staffing achieved for disadvantaged schools

METHERELL MAYHEM

In one of the largest demonstrations in Australian labour history, more than 80,000 teachers, parents and students gathered for a Day of Action in The Domain, Sydney, on 17 August 1988 to reject the Greiner/Metherell government’s attack on public education.

The newly elected NSW Government had been quick to announce:• the axing of 2400 teaching positions• the axing of 800 office staff positions• abandoning capital works in the

education portfolio• curriculum to be under the central

control of the Minister for Education• the sale of $340 million of public assets• changes to the HSC• the dismantling of the Department

of Education’s Women’s Programs in TAFE

• dismantling of equal opportunity and gender equity programs for students and teachers

• staff and funding cuts to TAFE• reducing casual teacher numbers• eliminating free public transport for

school students• increasing charges for public education• increasing class sizes.Thousands of people marched to the Education Department offices in regional centres and to Parliament House in Macquarie Street, carrying banners that told Premier Nick Greiner and Education Minister Terry Metherell exactly what teachers thought of their agenda.

Students from Mosman High School and North Sydney Boys High School led the School Students’ Union at the Day of Action in The Domain. Students from at least 100 schools took part. School Students’ Union Secretary Alex Malatestas was most concerned about the loss of 2000 teachers from public schools. Student activists carried banners with strong messages such as:• “Concerned students today, voters of

tomorrow”• “40,000 HSC students can’t be wrong”• “Education is a human right”• “Teachers, parents, students united in

defence of public education”.Teachers first took industrial action over the government’s plans on 9 June 1988. They participated in further strikes and stopwork meetings in coming years to demonstrate their strong opposition to the Greiner government’s approaches on education and industrial matters.

Scott ReportMr Greiner frequently remarked how he wished to manage the state of NSW like a business. Education Minister Terry Metherell appointed Brian Scott to review education in NSW. His 1999 report, Schools Renewal: A Strategy to Revise Schools within the New South Wales State Education System, contained a radical devolution agenda that was at the heart of the struggle between Federation and the Greiner government from 1988-1992.

The demise of Terry Metherell and Nick Greiner

On 20 July 1990, Terry Metherell was forced to resign from his position as education minister when media revealed he had evaded paying tax on his property portfolio. He was replaced by Virginia Chadwick on 24 June 1990. In October 1991, he resigned from the Liberal Party on live TV on the ABC’s 7.30 Report.

Mr Metherell ended his political career in April 1992 when he resigned as the independent member for Davidson.

Mr Greiner was reported to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) over Metherell’s resignation and appointment to a position at the Environmental Protection Authority. After Commissioner Ian Temby found Mr Greiner “corrupt within the meaning of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988” on 19 June 1992, he was forced out of office and resigned on 24 June 1992. The ICAC finding was later overturned by the NSW Court of Appeal.

More than 80,000 teachers, parents and students marched in Sydney on 17 August 1988 to protest the NSW government’s cuts to public education

1978 1980 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988

Child rearing recognised in salary progression

Statewide strikes in August and Octo to protest against special education staffing levels

Hawke Labor government announces plans to further fund wealthy private schools

Wran government announces plans to close the Superannuation Scheme

Ten-week re-training courses are introduced to address teacher shortages

40,000 students are refused TAFE enrolments due to a lack of teachers and suitable accommodation

Schools allocated two student-free days for professional learning programs

Maternity leave extended and provisions for part-time leave included

Cuts to TAFE funding results in fewer enrolments for TAFE courses

80,000 protest in The Domain over the Greiner/Metherell government’s attack on public education

ber

Succession of social justice firsts

Three significant appointments between 1975 and 1986 demonstrated Federation’s commitment to social reform. Other unions made similar appointments as a result of the high-profile activism of Federation officers in these pioneering roles.

Women’s CoordinatorGail Shelston was elected as Federation’s Coordinator of the Women’s Action Program in 1975, the International Year of Women. That year’s Annual Conference voted to extend the Women’s Coordinator position beyond 1975, however not all members were pleased with this decision and voiced their objections in Education’s letters to the editor and in conference debates.

Ms Shelston started her teaching career at Corrimal High School in 1972. Her Federation activism began that same year in the Illawarra Teachers Association. As the first Women’s Coordinator from 1975-1977, she established the permanent Women’s Action program within the union.

She published regular articles in Education and travelled throughout NSW speaking at conferences and at universities on affirmative action and equal opportunity. During this period, Ms Shelston was a member of the Department of Education’s Equal Employment Opportunity Task Force and Federation’s Affirmative Action Committee.

As a result of the high profile and successful advocacy by Ms Shelston in her pioneering Women’s Coordinator role, other unions appointed similar roles from 1975 onwards.

Aboriginal Education OfficerFederation’s first Policy Statement on Aboriginal Education was adopted at the 1980 Annual Conference. Earlier statements and publications outlining the problems faced by Aboriginal students in schools had been released previously.

Nominations for the foundation position of Aboriginal Education Coordinator were received in October 1985, and Tony Amatto (pictured) was elected as the first Coordinator in 1986. He held the position until he was succeeded by David Prosser in 1991.

In his report to Annual Conference in 1987, Mr Amatto urged delegates to seek the truth about the black history of white Australia and reminded them that as recently as the early 1970s, Aboriginal people were not allowed to use public swimming pools and movie theatres in country towns. “As teachers, we share an enormous responsibility to set the record straight,” he said. “We owe this to ourselves and to the children we teach.”

Mr Amatto also explained that Aboriginal Australians would find very little to celebrate in the upcoming 1988 Bicentenary of white settlement.

Former President of the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG), Linda Burney, stated at the time, “As a NSW Teachers Federation member, I am proud my union has adopted a position supportive of Aboriginal people declining to partake in the celebrations.”

Multicultural CoordinatorBarbara Fitzgerald was elected unopposed as Federation’s first Multicultural Coordinator in 1986, a position she held until 1988. Her work in this position involved exten-sive communication with APHEDA-Union Aid Abroad, especially in Vietnam, East Timor and Cambodia.

Ms Fitzgerald’s teaching career began in 1964 at Blacktown Girls High School. Between 1966 and 1973 she taught in Papua, New Guinea and London. On returning to Sydney in 1974, she joined the Adult Migrant English Service (AMES), teaching English to migrants from multicultural backgrounds. Her work with AMES coincided with the development of AMES Teachers Association as an active association within Federation in the 1980s.

Ms Fitzgerald was elected as Federation Welfare Officer in 1980, where she continued her strong activism with AMESTA until 1982. The Federation Multicultural Officer’s position was foreshadowed in 1983 and designated from 1986.

By the time Ms Fitzgerald returned to the classroom in 1989, AMES had grown to almost 500 teachers in NSW. Her work with multicultural programs was recognised with Federation Life Membership in 2000.

Jennie George: A union pioneerFormer Federation President Jennie George demonstrated strength and passion for social justice during her distinguished union leadership career. As the first female President of both Federation and the ACTU, she was an articulate media performer who overcame resentment from some sections of the old guard male unionists who questioned the leadership credentials of a woman from a white collar union.

Ms George was a Federation activist throughout the early 1970s and was elected as full-time Welfare Officer in 1973. In 1980, she became the union’s first female General Secretary, a position she held for three years. Ms George became Federation’s first female President in 1986, and held this position until 1989. During her tenure, she led the union through the tumultuous period of the Nick Greiner/Terry Metherell reforms from 1988-1989, and rejected the Scott Report, which proposed that public schools be corporatised and managed as businesses. Her powerful leadership during the Metherell disputes was widely supported by teachers, parents and students across NSW.

In her first year on the ACTU executive, in 1983, Ms George was the only woman in the governing body that consisted of 38 men. She was elected as ACTU Vice President in 1987, and in 1991 became the first female Assistant Secretary. She was elected as the first female ACTU President in 1996, and held this position until 2000.

In 1998, Ms George was prominent in the Maritime Union of Australia dispute with Patrick Corporation and the Howard federal government. She hailed the federal court win in that dispute as imperative to the union movement’s survival. Ms George was one of the key activists in the labour movement to establish the 50 per cent target for women in unions. She was also integral in securing paid maternity leave for women from the federal government when they did not receive a maternity leave benefit from their employers.

Ms George was elected as a Labor MP for the federal seat of Throsby in 2001. She was shadow parliamentary secretary for the environment and heritage from 2004-2007 and remained in federal politics until her retirement in 2010.

PROTRACTED BATTLES IN TAFETAFE teachers engaged in difficult, protracted battles with the Wran Labor and Greiner Liberal governments over equal teaching hours, known as the 18:12 campaigns.

Teachers of General and Diploma courses taught 18 hours with 12 hours of preparation time (18:12 princi-ple) while trade teachers taught for 24 hours with six hours of preparation time. All full-time TAFE teachers were required to be on site for 30 hours per week.

Unfulfilled promiseIn 1981, the Wran Labor government accepted the 18:12 staffing principle for all TAFE teachers but failed to follow through with any implementation strategies in the state budgets from 1982-1986.

During 1986, several confrontational stopwork meetings, one-day strikes, rallies, mass meetings, referrals to the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC), delegations and strong campaigning failed to resolve the 18:12 issue. Each time the government claimed there were insufficient funds to appoint additional teachers to facilitate the implementation of the 18:12 formula for all TAFE teachers.

Industrial activity secured a revised 20:10 staffing hours formula for 15 trade schools in 1980-1982, but the gains were very modest and highlighted the failure

of the Labor government to honour a string of election and budget promises since 1976. In 1985, 40,000 students were denied an enrolment in TAFE because of staffing and accommodation shortages.

In 1987, the Unsworth Labor government cynically dismissed earlier promises and again claimed that budget constraints worked against the implementation of equal teaching hours for all TAFE teachers. The withdrawal of $13 million in funding from 1986-1988 by the Labor government resulted in the loss of 520 full-time TAFE teaching positions.

Savage attacks on sectorThe election of the Greiner Coalition government in March 1988 exacerbated the fraught industrial landscape. Within three months of the election, in a very provocative move, the Greiner government increased TAFE staffing to 22 hours per week for all full-time teachers from 1989.

The “daylight equivalent” (time-and-a-half after 6pm) was also cancelled by the newly-elected government, despite it being part of the TAFE award since 1938. In November 1988, the IRC rejected the government’s application to increase teaching hours.

The Greiner government also announced it would dismantle Women’s Access and EEO Programs in

TAFE and begin charging students administration fees for courses studied.

These attacks on TAFE were unprecedented. Teachers were forced to make trade-offs for small salary increases. After the resignation of Education Minister Terry Metherell in 1990, TAFE was transferred away from public education to the Minister for Industrial Relations and Employment, John Fahey.

Scott ReviewA management review of TAFE by Brian Scott fore-shadowed significant changes to the working condi-tions of TAFE teachers from 1989-1990. The further loss of 100,000 students from TAFE, following the introduction of fees, seemed to concern NSW voters and Federation significantly more than it concerned the government.

The attacks on TAFE funding, staffing provisions, and vocational education curriculum guarantees for students continued throughout the Greiner/Fahey governments until the Carr Labor government was elected in April 1995. Unfortunately, the ongoing marginalisation and residualisation of TAFE as a public education provision by successive Labor and Liberal governments has continued into the 21st century.

Jennie George led the way for women as the first female President of Federation and the ACTU

The politics of Equal

Employment Opportunities

From 1981 to 1986, NSW Labor governments introduced a series of Equal Employment Opportunity programs in line with the demands of

the 1980 Anti-Discrimination (Amendment) Act, which demanded all public sector agencies introduce strategies to create opportunities for girls in schools and for women in the public sector workforce.

The programs made considerable impact, especially in the identification of discrimination against women and girls in the curriculum. EEO programs targeted women to participate in TAFE retraining courses. A small minority of male Federation members did not support the introduction of EEO or affirmative action programs and heated correspondence ensued in Education in the 1980s.

As soon as the Coalition government was elected

in March 1988, it foreshadowed the dismantling of EEO programs in schools and TAFEs, along with the Department of Education’s EEO Management Plan, as one of its cost cutting measures. Savage cuts to EEO programs were introduced, especially in TAFEs, despite ongoing Federation campaigns from 1988 to 1992 to preserve as many equity programs as possible. Some elements of the equity programs were restored under Virginia Chadwick in 1993-1994 and by the Carr Labor government after its election in 1995. By 1996, the concepts of equity, equal opportunity and non-discrimination were much more prominent in NSW government education policies.

Federation activism immortalisedIn 1988, Federation applied to the Australia Council for the Arts for assistance with the commissioning of a trade union campaign banner.

A grant of $8600 was approved and used for the hiring of a professional banner painter, who worked on the project for 12 weeks. A Federation Banner Committee was formed to advise on design components and to review initial drawings. Preliminary sketches were displayed for Federation Council and TAFE Council in 1988.

Artist Birgitte Hansen was chosen to design the banner and she was assisted by textile artists Susie Crooks and Nola Taylor, who had previously worked on the design and construction of banners. The construction involved painting, knitting, sewing, weaving and patchwork, symbolising the work of women.

The various panels of the banner reflect the rich history of campaigns fought by Federation in its 70 years to 1988. Some of the images include a cartoon encapsulating the life of a female teacher when the Married Women (Lecturers and Teachers) Act of 1932 forced the dismissal of married women teachers; International Women’s Day in 1975; and the fight for equal pay.

It also features images of women teachers at the 1988 rally against the Greiner/Metherell government’s devolution reform agenda, and images from

campaigns to provide resources for Aboriginal education.

The banner is on permanent display in the union’s auditorium in Surry Hills.

CANE ABOLISHED FOR GOOD

The abolition of corporal punishment in schools — usually referred to as “the cane” — was debated many times throughout the history of Federation before it was abolished in NSW public schools by the Minister for Education, Rodney Cavalier, in 1986. The cane was abolished in Victorian public schools in 1985.

Motions to abolish the cane were debated at Council, Association meetings and Annual Conferences as early as the 1930s, but they were invariably defeated. Teachers argued they deserved the right to make their “own professional judgements” about appropriate use of the cane. Principals wanted to retain the right to use the cane and delegate its use to senior teachers.

In 1974, Federation commissioned a survey on the use of the cane, and of the 200 schools that replied, only five supported the abolition of the cane. In the 4 June 1975 edition of Education, Teachers from St Marys High School in western Sydney mounted a spirited defence of the “professional judgement of teachers” regarding use of the cane. Several teachers and head teachers from the school signed the defence of corporal punishment document.

Although it had been government policy for decades that all corporal punishment administered at school had to be recorded in a “punishment book”, it was not always recorded.

Those who were opposed to the cane argued that its use was demeaning for both students and teachers and had no place in 20th century public schools. Minister Cavalier claimed the cane was “neither humane nor effective”. Anti-corporal punishment leaflets were occasionally distributed in various forums.

The decision by the Minister in 1986 was criticised by some Federation members when it came into effect in all public schools from the start of the 1987 school year. Schools were encouraged to study alternative methods of discipline and classroom management. British parliament also abolished the cane in both public and private schools in 1986.

The NSW Federation of P & C Organisations welcomed the abolition of the cane. The P & C state council had been arguing for its abolition since 1975, and Federation supported it despite misgivings from many members.

Corporal punishment was abolished in NSW private schools in 1995 by the Carr Labor government.

Decade of RFF campaigningIn September 1981, NSW Premier Neville Wran made several promises regarding primary/infants staffing during his re-election campaign. “Release from face-to-face teaching in primary schools is a high priority matter,” he said. “The government will begin a program of implementation during the next financial year.” However, this promise was broken and all infants, primary and SSP teachers did not receive two hours release from face-to-face (RFF) per week until 1988.

Primary and infants teachers had campaigned strongly through the 1970s for a reduction in class sizes, RFF, and a reclassification of schools to protect staffing entitlements due to falling enrolments.

The Wran government made several promises when it was elected in May 1976, but by 1980 very little had been achieved. The Minister for Education, Paul Landa, was unresponsive to concerns about the loss of teaching positions as a result of the ruthless application of the primary and infants staffing formula in the face of falling enrolments in parts of NSW.

A mass meeting of 1800 teachers on 9 November 1980 at the Regent Theatre

in Sydney demonstrated the seriousness of Federation’s primary/infants staffing campaign demands. Those who attended the meeting did so during a huge downpour, which flooded many parts of the city, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This turnout demonstrated the magnitude of support for Federation’s campaign.

Throughout 1981-1982, the Department of Education delayed a reduction in class sizes and face-to-face teaching time despite promises to the contrary. The re-election of the Wran government in September 1981 delivered more promises but, again, very little action. “The infants/primary staffing issues were far from won,” reported Barbara Murphy (Federation Deputy President 1982-1983) in the 1981 Annual Report. From 1981-1983, she was concerned about the anticipated loss of 2100 primary and infants positions in the years 1983-1986 if there was no adjustment to the staffing formula.

In 1983, primary and infants teachers staged two 24-hour strikes in support of the staffing campaign and RFF. The strike on 23 August was widely supported by the Federation of P & Cs and the Federation of School Community Organisations, while

90 per cent of parents kept their children home in support of the strike. The NSW state budget on 20 September failed to address the RFF and staffing issues.

The second strike on 20 October reminded Education Minister Ron Mulock of his previous comments about the importance of investment in early years of schooling. In December 1983, the Wran government announced it would phase in RFF from 1984-1987. However, by 1987, fewer than 50 per cent of relevant teachers had been allocated weekly RFF so the campaign resumed in 1987, highlighting the government’s broken promises.

By 1986, Barrie Unsworth had replaced Wran as NSW Premier. On 31 August 1987, he agreed to fund the equivalent of an additional 820 teachers in order to fund RFF for every remaining relevant teacher from 1988. At the same time, he agreed to trial 150 permanent part-time teaching positions.

The Unsworth government was defeated by Nick Greiner and the Liberal coalition in March 1988, however RFF had been implemented for all teachers in all schools by Term 1 in 1988, concluding a long and difficult 10-year campaign.

Artist Birgitte Hansen and Publications officer Paula Bloch works on the banner’s design

From Bathurst TA to the world stageSharan Burrow began her teaching career in 1982 and was a public education activist as a member of Federation during the 1980s. She was President of the Bathurst Trades and Labor Council before becoming President of the Australian Education Union in 1992.

In 2000, Ms Burrow was elected as ACTU President, becoming just the second woman to hold the position after Jennie George. During her presidency, she was heavily involved in the Your Rights At Work campaign, opposing the industrial policies of the Howard federal government. She was also involved in the establishment of the Fair Work Act in 2009 by the Rudd government, which abolished the Work Choices legislation. Ms Burrow was also involved in establishing the Paid Parental Leave scheme, which she argued was crucial to the ongoing participation of women in the workforce. After a decade as ACTU President, she was succeeded by Ged Kearney in 2010.

Ms Burrow was the first woman to be elected to the position of General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) — the world’s peak labour organisation. In her acceptance speech in 2006, Ms Burrow outlined the international labour movement’s priorities. “I am a warrior for women and we still have to work to ensure the inclusion of women in the workplace and in our unions,” she said. “The investment in and participation of women is not only a moral mandate, it is an investment in democracy and a bulwark against fundamentalism and oppression. Organising women must continue to be a priority for the ITUC.” Ms Burrow had previously been President of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

In 2014, Ms Burrow was re-elected as ITUC General Secretary. In 2017, she became co-chair of the World Justice Project, which works to strengthen the rule of law around the world.

Sharan Burrow has dedicated her career to union leadership and women’s rights

SACKED FOR REFUSING TRANSFER

In February 1985, Bega High School teacher Dick O’Neill refused a forced transfer to Bombala High School and was sacked by the Department of Education.

He was the first NSW teacher to be sacked for refusing a transfer, taking a stand in defence of the curriculum available to Bega High School students. The curriculum, including HSC maths courses, had been compromised by the Labor government’s new staffing formula implemented that same year.

The Minister for Education, Rodney Cavalier, threatened to sack any teacher who refused a forced transfer in 1985 and relished provoking industrial action against a ruthlessly enforced new staffing formula.

Mr O’Neill had been teaching maths and science at the school since 1981, and despite a controversial court case challenging the forced transfer, the Department of Education refused to reinstate him.

He enjoyed support from all 16 high schools in the Illawarra Teachers Association, and his colleagues from Bega High School and across NSW raised funds to support his salary during the protracted dispute that lasted 44 weeks.

The dispute received extensive media coverage. Mr O’Neill was vilified and received death threats. The Secretary of the NSW Labor Council, John MacBean, and Assistant Secretary Michael Easson urged Premier Wran to reinstate him to Bega High School.

After his dismissal, Mr O’Neill was employed by Federation as a country organiser from 1986 -1987. He was appointed to Narooma High School before the NSW election in March 1988 after Federation announced it would campaign in marginal seats against the Unsworth government.

He retired from Narooma High School in 2002 after being awarded Federation Life Membership in 2001.

When Mr O’Neill passed away in March 2007, he was remembered as a proud union-ist and activist who inspired others to stay strong during difficult times.

KEEPING SCHOOLS IN PUBLIC HANDS

The bitter Dover Heights Boys High School dispute from 1980-1985 exposed the Wran government’s lack of commitment to public schools and public education. Never before had a public school been offered for sale to a private school.

The Wran government had already foreshadowed the closure of Randwick North High School, Cleveland Street Boys High School, Wilkins High School and Newtown Boys High School. Federation’s School Closures Committee demanded an immediate two-year moratorium on all school closures from 1981.

The proposal to merge Dover Heights Boys High School with Dover Heights Girls High School to form Dover Heights High School on the girls’ school campus was strongly opposed by all members of the Dover Heights Boys HS community, and the struggle to keep the school in public hands lasted many years. In 1982, the school site was offered to Moriah College, a publicly funded Category 1 private school, but the 60-year lease at $150,000 per year did not proceed due to Federation’s strong campaign. From 1976, Moriah College had received $3 million in federal and NSW government funding.

At Federation’s 1982 Annual Conference, hundreds of teachers signed up to occupy the site of Dover Heights Boys HS from 1983.

Members regarded the proposed sale as a complete betrayal of public education and public assets by a Labor government at the same time it was subsidising NSW private schools by $80 million per year.

In April 1983, Premier Wran suggested students of Dover Heights Boys HS and Moriah could jointly occupy the site. This was met with widespread condemnation. Following several days and nights on picket lines at Dover Heights Boys HS, plus strike action, mass meetings, leaflets, the lobbying of MPs, stopwork meetings across Sydney’s eastern suburbs and a unanimous motion condemning the government at the Federation of P&Cs Annual Conference in July 1983, the Wran government finally met with Federation and parent groups on 17 November 1983 to announce the site would be used as a TAFE college.

The long fight to keep the Dover Heights Boys High School site in public hands ultimately failed. It was occupied by Dover Heights TAFE from 1986 to 1995, before the Carr Labor government presided over its sale to a private religious school. Since 2003, it has been occupied by Kesser Torah College, a Jewish Orthodox co-educational K-12 school and preschool. The merger of Dover Heights Vaucluse and Dover Heights high schools in 2003 created Rose Bay Secondary College, which is still part of the public education system.

Teachers in time: the 1980sFour-term yearIn 1987, the four-term year replaced the three-term year, which had been in place since 1930. Prior to 1930, a four-term year had been in place from 1848-1928. In 1929, there were only two terms in NSW public schools.

During the three-term years, teachers and students often struggled with colds and flus through the 13- or 14-week winter term, especially in classrooms that were poorly heated or insulated.

Double marking and the HSCThe Greiner government announced major revisions to the double marking procedure of HSC exams in order to save $800,000. Federation activists opposed these cost-cutting measures that could compromise the integrity and credibility of the HSC.

In November 1988, HSC English markers staged a “sit in” and continued to implement the double marking process. Eventually, the Minister for Education, Terry Metherell, relented and double marking was restored just as HSC marking was underway. The decision was widely applauded in the press and by parent groups.

Double marking may have been rescued, but there was a constant battle by Federation members throughout the 1990s to retain credible HSC marking procedures. Successive governments sought ways to reduce costs rather than investing in high quality and viable assessment procedures.

Teachers shortageIn August 1988, the Department of Education advised some secondary principals they would have to consider leaving senior classes untaught and also cut some senior electives in order to absorb staff cuts. This contradicted Mr Metherell, who publicly stated that staffing cuts would be “minimal”.

On 27 June 1988, Amanda Moore, a Year 12 student from Evans High School at Blacktown, wrote to the Editor

of Education to express her dismay at not having a trained science teacher for the previous four months of the year. However, Ms Moore was appreciative of her principal, who had been teaching the class himself.

Her letter also quoted the Bicentennial memento, which had been issued to all school children in 1988: “You are Australia’s Future.” Ms Moore was having difficulty reconciling this message with the failure of the

Department of Education to provide her Year 12 class with a teacher for such an extended period. She urged Federation to campaign to address teacher shortage issues.

1988: Federation fees• Full-time teachers: $182 per year, or $7 per fortnight• Casual or part-time teachers: $63 per year• Education cost: $1.40 per edition

White Australia has a black historyThroughout 1986 and 1987, the issue of how Australia’s 1988 Bicentenary year should be celebrated was frequently debated. Annual Conference of 1987 unanimously called on Federation to produce teaching material for members that presented an Aboriginal perspective on Australian history.

Visit by Margaret ThatcherDuring her visit to Australia in 1988 for the Bicentenary celebrations, UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher addressed the National Press Club. She advised Australian politicians to introduce small government, thrash out policies in the party room and then “stick with them”. In Business Review Weekly on 12 August 1988, she advised the Greiner government to “tackle interest groups head on” just five days before the mass rally of more than 80,000 parents, teachers and students opposing the government’s education reforms.

Federation members waged a fierce campaign to prevent Dover Heights Boys High School from being sold

Supporters came out in force to support sacked teacher Dick O’Neill