Schools are struggling to pay for school camps, and camp operators are suffering due to lack of support from the State Government.

Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, said the outcome of the recent teachers’ pay agreement means teachers must now be paid for their time on school camps, or given time off in lieu and, with minimal additional funding being provided, this was extremely problematic.

“No one would deny fair pay for hours worked, but what has happened is schools cannot afford to give teachers time off in lieu due to the teacher shortage, and then the paltry amount the government is offering for payment goes nowhere near covering the costs to schools.

“They are then left with the predicament of having to find funds they don’t have, or cut down on school camps. Some are choosing the latter and then that is impacting the viability of our school camp operators.

“I think almost every adult remembers the great experiences they had on school camps, which are an important part of the curriculum, and it should not be jeopardised by lack of government support,” said Mr Bull.

“It is completely unfair for government to have created this mess and left the financial burden on school budgets and school camp operators are suffering.

“To their credit, some schools are carrying the burden in the short term, but it is not sustainable long term, while others have already made the hard decision to cut down on camps.”

Mr Bull said it was particularly disadvantaging country schools.

“What we are finding is that instead of travelling long distances for camps, metropolitan schools are doing day excursions within school hours, so they do not blow their budget. However, if country schools want to take their students to the city, there is no way around the problem.

“I have called on the Minister to revisit this and ensure schools, students and school camp operators are not disadvantaged by her decision.”

Caption: Local school camp operators, such as Coonawarra Farm Resort in Glenaladale (pictured), are noticing a marked reduction in bookings particularly from metropolitan schools, due to the Andrews Labor Government’s changes to school camp funding.

Monday, September 4, 2023