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School banking is likely to be phased out from Canberra’s public schools, following a push from the ACT Greens. The ACT Greens will introduce a motion to the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday afternoon that will call on the government to transition away from banks by the end of June. Labor and Liberal will support the motion, but the Liberals will put forward an amendment to extend the transition until the end of the next school year. ACT Greens education spokesman Johnathan Davis said he did not want to see Canberra kids “subjected to the sophisticated marketing machines of the big banks”. Mr Davis said he was prompted to introduce the motion after a report from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission found school banking programs did not improve savings behaviour. “Our schools don’t exist to create customers for big banks,” he said. “The banks will tell us that they provide financial literacy programs that help improve young people’s relationships with money, but they provide no evidence to prove that.” MORE ACT POLITICS NEWS: Mr Davis has instead used the motion to call on the ACT government to deliver financial literacy programs for children. He said the government should work with students, the ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Association, the Australian Education Union ACT branch and the ACT Principals’ Association to develop a new plan. “This is something that needed to be done yesterday,” he said. “It’s time we get commercial interests out of schools.” ACT Council of Parents & Citizens Associations communications officer Janelle Kennard said members would meet later this month to discuss different options for how financial literacy could be taught in schools. “Some really value [school banking] but others are moving away from it,” she said. “We need to have further discussion … it’s important to bring members along with us.”
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School banking is likely to be phased out from Canberra’s public schools, following a push from the ACT Greens.
The ACT Greens will introduce a motion to the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday afternoon that will call on the government to transition away from banks by the end of June.
Labor and Liberal will support the motion, but the Liberals will put forward an amendment to extend the transition until the end of the next school year.
ACT Greens education spokesman Johnathan Davis said he did not want to see Canberra kids “subjected to the sophisticated marketing machines of the big banks”.
Mr Davis said he was prompted to introduce the motion after a report from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission found school banking programs did not improve savings behaviour.
“Our schools don’t exist to create customers for big banks,” he said.
“The banks will tell us that they provide financial literacy programs that help improve young people’s relationships with money, but they provide no evidence to prove that.”
Mr Davis has instead used the motion to call on the ACT government to deliver financial literacy programs for children.
He said the government should work with students, the ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Association, the Australian Education Union ACT branch and the ACT Principals’ Association to develop a new plan.
“This is something that needed to be done yesterday,” he said.
“It’s time we get commercial interests out of schools.”
ACT Council of Parents & Citizens Associations communications officer Janelle Kennard said members would meet later this month to discuss different options for how financial literacy could be taught in schools.
“Some really value [school banking] but others are moving away from it,” she said.
“We need to have further discussion … it’s important to bring members along with us.”
