Reflecting considerable interest from school leaders and communities, ACT Leader and Epsom MP David Seymour will host a public meeting at Holy Trinity Cathedral at 7:00pm on 7 March.

The meeting will feature presentations from Tomorrow’s Schools Review Taskforce Chair Bali Haque and his colleague Dr Cathy Wylie, critiqued by education policy Professor Gary Hawke and former Cabinet Minister Hon Richard Prebble, as well as questions from the floor.

“Late last year, I called a meeting of local principals about the Taskforce’s proposals for how schools are managed. I came to understand that our local school leaders hold a range of views, from outright opposition to cautious interest. I think it is now important that the community has the highest-quality opportunity to be informed, make up its own mind, and submit their views to the Taskforce.

“People in the Epsom Electorate, and up and down the country, are extremely interested in the Taskforce’s substantial proposals for how schools are run. I believe it is important that people are fully informed about what is being proposed and how it may affect them. The education changes proposed are larger than any since the original Tomorrow’s Schools reforms in 1989.

“The proposals put in jeopardy each community’s ability to elect the governors of their schools, and in turn control zones, the employment of principals and teachers, the development of property, and the character of their school. As such, they are of enormous interest to communities built around education such as the Epsom Electorate.

“Given the importance of education to local people, I look forward to a constructive exchange of views on the topic.”