Winter break

[westozfalcon]

Australian federal politicians get a whole month off in January so why do they need to have July off too?

[dedja]

To enjoy Europe ...

[Jimmy_041]

Nearly all pollies I know put in incredible hours during the year.
One question? How many weeks annual leave a year do teachers get?

[Jase]

Nearly all pollies I know put in incredible hours during the year.
One question? How many weeks annual leave a year do teachers get?

My wife gets 10 weeks a year, but she also works until at least 10pm four nights a week, marking, preparing and planning for the coming week. There is also all the new work with the Australian Curriculum, out of hours staff meetings, sports team trainings that she takes as well... Plus she works through the holidays, preparing as well, making sure that kids learn and enjoy it while they are doing it.

She doesn't get a Commonwealth funded car, paid lunches, dinners etc, doesn't earn $100K or more, doesn't get interstate/international flights paid for, massive pensions after working for (what is it) 2 terms (6 years)...

Plus she has to put up with kids with learning difficulties, violence issues, being threatened, ignored and abused by students and parents...

Sure there are some dud teachers who don't care, but please the majority of them deserve every little break that comes their way.

[Jimmy_041]

Pollies do most of all that (including put up with kids with learning difficulties, violence issues, being threatened, ignored and abused by students and parents...), and if Parliament doesn't sit, many of them still have jobs to do.
You reckon they all sit around doing nothing? (Not aiming that at you Jase)

[Dogwatcher]

Pollies do most of all that (including put up with kids with learning difficulties, violence issues, being threatened, ignored and abused by students and parents...), and if Parliament doesn't sit, many of them still have jobs to do.
You reckon they all sit around doing nothing? (Not aiming that at you Jase)

So...if pollies do all of that, plus have fantastic super and travel benefits (which no one else gets), why do they make snide comments about teachers and their holidays (aimed at engendering public sympathy for their position) when it comes time to negotiate a better pay deal? A bit hypocritical?

[Jase]

Pollies do most of all that (including put up with kids with learning difficulties, violence issues, being threatened, ignored and abused by students and parents...), and if Parliament doesn't sit, many of them still have jobs to do.
You reckon they all sit around doing nothing? (Not aiming that at you Jase)

I totally agree, with your statement, but it really does sh#t me, when people have a crack at teachers for having lots of holidays....

They bloody deserve them... as do pollies, my folks used to live next to David Fawcett, the ex-member for Wakefield and I know him from the church I go to as well. I will never doubt the level of work done by Pollies, after seeing the stuff that David did, while he was the rep for Wakefield... While he was a Lib and I tend to be a bit more Labour leaning, he worked his arse of for the folks of Wakefield and if we had lived in that area at the time I would have voted for him due to this dedication.

I'm ranting now...

[Jimmy_041]

Pollies do most of all that (including put up with kids with learning difficulties, violence issues, being threatened, ignored and abused by students and parents...), and if Parliament doesn't sit, many of them still have jobs to do.
You reckon they all sit around doing nothing? (Not aiming that at you Jase)

So...if pollies do all of that, plus have fantastic super and travel benefits (which no one else gets), why do they make snide comments about teachers and their holidays (aimed at engendering public sympathy for their position) when it comes time to negotiate a better pay deal? A bit hypocritical?

Speaking of fantastic super, you do realise they have to contribute a good proportion of their salary to get it?
It doesn't come for free?
I am happy to make snide remarks about any other public servant that gets more than 4 weeks holidays and life tenure if you could help me out. I'm happy to include them all
My point stands that just because Parliament isn't sitting, doesn't mean they aren't working

[Dogwatcher]

Jimmy, I didn't question you making snide remarks about public servants.
I questioned pollies making snide remarks about teachers' holidays (to benefit their debate), when they enjoy the same benefits.

And, if you've been to Canberra during winter, you'd know why they have a winter break! My b-i-l lives there at the moment and he's loving the cold

[westozfalcon]

My beef with it is the terminology used. I don't know why, in Australia's relatively mild winter it needs to be called a 'winter break'. Just call it what it is - a holiday!

You could understand a winter break in cities like Ottawa, Warsaw, Budapest or Moscow where travel to the parliament building may be affected by snow. Canberra is cold but it doesn't compare to those places.

[Sky Pilot]

Nearly all pollies I know put in incredible hours during the year.
One question? How many weeks annual leave a year do teachers get?

My wife gets 10 weeks a year, but she also works until at least 10pm four nights a week, marking, preparing and planning for the coming week. There is also all the new work with the Australian Curriculum, out of hours staff meetings, sports team trainings that she takes as well... Plus she works through the holidays, preparing as well, making sure that kids learn and enjoy it while they are doing it.

She doesn't get a Commonwealth funded car, paid lunches, dinners etc, doesn't earn $100K or more, doesn't get interstate/international flights paid for, massive pensions after working for (what is it) 2 terms (6 years)...

Plus she has to put up with kids with learning difficulties, violence issues, being threatened, ignored and abused by students and parents...

Sure there are some dud teachers who don't care, but please the majority of them deserve every little break that comes their way.

Good post

[Bully]

i work hard in 2 jobs if not harder then these so called pollies, so why dont i get a full break at christmas like they do and a break now and be fully paid. Im not 100% sure if they get fully paid for these breaks, but yeah what about the hard working aussies out there, that put in 70 plus hours a week and only get 4 weeks holidays??

[The Sleeping Giant]

Pollies staff do all the work anyway.

[GWW]

Barnaby probably wishes there was no break. Wont be able to have any fun for another 6 weeks now..

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-n ... 6413349295

[dedja]

Wish we could drink on the job as well ... WADH

[smac]

I wish there was someone at work we could call a flash bit of kit.

[dedja]

what about at home?

[smac]

I can drink there.

[Booney]

Dont the pollies return to their respective offices during the winter break to work / catch up on affairs there? I dont think it is annual leave / holiday type time, is it?

[wycbloods]

Dont the pollies return to their respective offices during the winter break to work / catch up on affairs there? I dont think it is annual leave / holiday type time, is it?

Spot on. It's time away from Canberra and back to their electorates not annual leave.

For many back benchers this is probably when they do more work not less.