GARRETT TRAIN WRECK COMES TO BEECHWORTH
01-December-2010
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Julia Gillard’s MySchool website is in tatters today after evidence shows the site is riddled with skewed results and inaccuracies.
As reported in The Age (2/12/10), Beechworth Montessori Primary has been ranked the third highest school in Australia on the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA).
“I congratulate the Principal of Montessori, Heather Gerrard for standing up for her school,” said Sophie Mirabella MP – Federal Member for Indi.
“The Peter Garrett Train Wreck has come to town. After the fluff in roofs program, he should have been sacked, not promoted.”
“This is a monumental stuff up that has severe implications for Montessori Primary School. The MySchool website would have you believe that Montessori is one of the most advantaged schools in all of Australia and unfortunately that is just not the case. The website will rank Montessori above Xavier College and Melbourne Grammar.
“This inaccurate information has the potential to prejudice the schools ability to attract funding for basic resources. Why would the Department of Education give money to a school that is ranked 3rd on the ICSEA rankings if there are schools lower down the scale that appear to be in greater need? The results have totally distorted the reality of the situation. These inaccuracies must be rectified before further damage is done.
“This type of disaster is typical of the Gillard Government. Labor is desperate to force these programs through as quickly as possible without doing the necessary groundwork. We saw Mr Garrett try and do the same thing with the Home Insulation Program and look what happened there.
“It just goes to show how serious Ms Gillard is about her so called ‘Education Revolution’. She appoints Australia’s most incompetent Minister to a key portfolio and then wonders why there are stuff ups.
“It really brings into question the motives of Ms Gillard. To me, it looks as if the website will be used by Labor and the Australian Education Union to launch a vicious campaign against the non-government school sector in the middle of a school funding review,”
“I have contacted the Minister’s office to see what steps are being taken to rectify these errors and I will be speaking with the Principal of Montessori to discuss further concerns,” Mrs Mirabella concluded.