COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA.
SPEECH BY
Rt. Hon. SIR ROBERT MENZIES,
M. P.
ON
, DSTATES GRANTS ( Science Laboratories and
Technical Training) BIll 1964
3) SECOND READING
[ From the " Parliamentary Debates," 7th May, 1964.]
Sir ROBERT MENZIES ( Kooyong-
Prime Minister) [ 11.181.-1 move-
That the bill be now read a second time.
This bill will carry into effect a promise
,-de by the Government that, if returned
Jpower, it would provide annual amounts
of œ 5,000,000 for the provision of science
buildings and equipment in all secondary
schools, government or independent, without
discrimination, and similar amounts of
000,000 annually for State technical
JIcation. Both grants are to be made
under the powers conferred by section 96 of
the Constitution, and State governments
have agreed to be the channel whereby
amounts will be paid to independent schools.
In the case of the grant for the provision
of science buildings and equipment in
secondary schools, honorable members will
recall that on 5th March last a statement
was made by my colleague in the Senate and
also read by me in this House giving details
of the manner in which these grants were
to be made, and it is therefore unnecessary
to enlarge at length on the proposal. On
that occasion, schools which were eligible
5941/ 64. for assistance, and which were seeking assistance,
were invited to make application as
soon as possible. Up to the closing date
for applications to be considered for assistance
in the year 1964-65, which was set
as the 21st April, some 410 complcted
questionnaires had been received from independent
schools, and a further 96 completed
forms have since come in. So there has
been a very wide response.
Since the original statement, the personnel
an~ d terms of reference of the committee set
up to advise the Government on standards
of science buildings and equipment for independent
schools and on particular projects
submitted by these schools have been
announced and the committee has commenced
operation. In the nature of the
detailed examinations required for each
project, it may take some little time before
all grants for 1964-65 can be approved.
Excellent co-operation -has been received
from the authorities responsible for independent
schools, who are in process of
setting up committees of advice in each
State.
I think we have seen enough already to
indicate the substantial size of the programme
in front of us, and the great need
for improvement in the science facilities of
many independent schools, which have been
struggling along endeavouring to teach
science, often under severe difficulties.
The magnitude of the problem means, of
course, that even with the substantial funds
we have made available, many schools will
have to wait some years for assistance. This
may have some compensating advantages
because many schools will require a good
deal of time to plan in full detail the
facilities best suited to their needs.
Honorable members will observe that
in the First Schedule to the bill the amount
appropriated for science laboratories and
equipment is œ 4,952,900. The remaining
sum required to bring the total to
œ 5,000,000 is œ 47,100 and this is the share
of schools in the Australian Capital Territory
and the Northern Territory, which will
be separately appropriated in the forthcoming
Budget. It will be recalled that the method chosen
to divide the money between government
schools and non-government schools is first
by obtaining from the Commonwealth
Statistician the numbers of secondary school
pupils enrolled in government schools and
the numbers of secondary school pupils
enrolled in non-government schools and
dividing the total amount of œ 5,000,000 in
proportion to those numbers throughout
Australia, and, secondly, allotting the sum
available for government schools to the
various State Governments in proportion to
the populations of the States as certified by
the Statistician. On this occasion, the total
sum available to non-government schools
will also be divided in an identical fashic
although in future years it will prove de\,)
able, from time to time, to adopt a more
flexible division between non-government
schools in the States, depending upon the
urgency of the need as revealed by investigation
of school applications.
Splitting the funds available on t,.
formula I have given will yield the following
results for 1964-65:-
SCIENCE BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS.
DIVISION BETWEEN STATES AND TERRITORIES.
GovernmentSIndependent Schools.
State. Schools. Total.
Catholic. Other. Total.
New South Wales 1,355,000 377,700 121,700 499,400 1,854,400
Victoria 1,022,600 237,900 139,100 377,000 1,399,600
Queensland 524,200 109,900 83,300 193,200 717,40"
South Australia 337,700 60,300 64,200 124,500 462,2t
Western Australia 258,500 58,400 36,900 95,300 353,80%,
Tasmania .120,900 25,100 19,500 44,600 165,500
All States 3,618,900 869,300 464,700 1,334,000 4,952,900
Australian Capital Territory and
Northern Territory 34,400 9,900 2,800 12,700 47,11
3,653,300 879,200 467,500 1,346,700 5,000,000
Discussions with the States as to the
avenues for expenditure of amounts available
to them are still in process, but from
the plans put forward so far, and from the
amounts of money being made available by
the Commonwealth in relation to amounts
previously spent by the States. I believe
that the new grants are going to have an
immensely stimulating effect on the teaching
of science in schools throughout the. country.
Emphasis on the significance of this is hardly
necessary. There are two ends to be served. The
first is to raise the general level of education
in a society which is becoming increasingly
dependent upon the scientific use of resources.
The second is the special education
necessary for those young people who
are to take up scientific or technological
careers of all sorts, and who must come
forward in increasing numbers, and must
have an ever-deeper understanding of
science both theoretical and applied.
The new grants will enable States, as we
have already seen from preliminary plans,
to undertake new and imaginative projects
for raising the standards of the best students
and preparing them for work at tertiary
level; and this development will, I am sure,
be paralleled in the private school systems.
Coupled with the opportunities for the most
talented young people to prolong their
schooling through the new Commonwealth
secondary scholarships, I believe that this
plan opens a new era for the development of
scientific education in this country, in an
age when all advanced countries are putting
great emphasis on the application of science
to development and welfare.
Turning now to the grants for buildings
~ Ad equipment for use in technical training,
the split-up in the Second Schedule will
indicate the entitlement for each State. We
had hoped that before the introduction of
-this bill the Committee on the Future of
ertiary Education under the chairmanship
-of Sir Leslie Martin would have reported,
and that we would have been in a position
to take into account those of its recommendations
that may affect the area of
technical and technological education.
There is, however, no difficulty at all in
1964-65 in carrying out the intentions of
the Government with respect to this grant,
which will be spent for any purpose in the
fields of the training of tradesmen, technicians
and technologists agreed between the
Commonwealth and each individual State.
:) There is no intention on the part of the
ommonwealth to exercise a close supervision
over the States either in the field of
science buildings and equipment or in the
field of technical education, provided that
we are satisfied that in both cases expendi-
> ire by the Commonwealth is in addition
1--to, and not in substitution for State expenditure;
and the State Governments have
readily agreed to this proviso. The method
of procedure will be a simple one, involving
agreement in general between Commonwealth
and States as to the type of project
upon which expenditure is to take place,
notification by the States within that general
agreement of the particular projects to be
undertaken, and agreement by the Commonwealth.
Thereafter, construction can proceed at
speed, without detailed supervision by the
Commonwealth. Examples of the type of
project which will be assisted are the very
substantial expansion of the Hobart Technical
College and the Central Technical
College in Brisbane. A wide range of
courses will benefit from this expenditure,
which I might say will represent a very
substantial increase indeed in the size of the
technical education building programme in
the various States; and the moneys available
for producing skilled tradesmen, technicians
and technologists will be greatly augmented.
New ground is being broken in both the
scientific and technical fields, and it is
invigorating to see the readiness with which
all sections of the educational field have
responded to the offers of assistance and
the fresh thinking which has already been
engendered. My hope and I am sure the
hope of all honorable members is that
Commonwealth moneys can with great benefit
be used to stimulate activities which could
not be afforded previously by either State or
independent schools, and that teaching of
science and training of skilled young men
and women will be greatly improved.
Debate ( on motion by Mr. Calwell)
adjourned.
BY AUTHORITY: A. J. ARTHUR, COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT PRINTER, CANBERRA.