The Australian Education Union (AEU) has passed a motion of no-confidence in Education Minister Jo Palmer, accusing her of failing to tackle a growing crisis in the state’s schools.
The move came on the same day the state government handed down its 2025–26 budget, which the union says does “nothing” to address violence, heavy workloads or teacher burnout.
AEU Tasmania president David Genford said educators had lost faith.
“Educators have lost confidence in a minister who ignores the growing crisis in our schools,” he said.
The union is particularly alarmed by the government’s request for educators to identify potential areas for cuts in next year’s budget, despite Tasmania receiving increased federal education funding.
“Tasmania is getting more federal funding for education, which means the government should be spending that extra money in schools,” Genford said.
“But we have no confidence that this minister will direct that funding to schools, where it’s desperately needed and not divert it into her own pet projects.”
The budget delivers $9.9 billion for education over four years, representing a 5% increase from 2024-25.
It includes $294 million for education facilities and $10 million to support students with disability.
However, Genford said the budget failed to address the key issues driving teachers and support staff out of the profession.
“Minister Palmer has not acted to stop violence in schools or make workloads safe,” he said.
“Teachers and support staff are burning out, leaving the profession and saying that the system is deeply broken.”
The union warned that asking educators to identify savings would only harm students.
“Classrooms are already running on empty,” Genford said. “Good will from educators is the only thing propping our education system up.”
In his budget speech, Treasurer Eric Abetz reaffirmed the government’s commitment to education but also highlighted the need for efficiency measures across all departments.
An Efficiency and Productivity Unit (EPU) has been established to identify savings without undermining service quality.
The government is forecasting a $1 billion deficit in 2025-26 and aims to return to surplus by 2028-29.
The AEU is calling on the government to rule out any future cuts to education and to deliver a clear plan to retain and support teachers.
