MPs count on times tables

By Ed Merrison
IT SEEMS Gembrook MP Tammy Lobato is not the only local MP laying her political cards on the times tables.
A week after Ms Lobato came under fire for distributing times tables posters that promoted her political profile, the Gazette has learned that the office of La Trobe MP Jason Wood has been posting out similar material for some time.
Unlike Ms Lobato, who was accused of “blatant electioneering” by Berwick Lodge Primary School principal Henry Grossek, Mr Wood said his posters had not been mass distributed.
Mr Wood compared the posters to brochures his office had on youth or veteran affairs, and said they would be forwarded to parents who contacted his office for whatever reason.
“I definitely haven’t dropped them into schools or anything like that. Unless the schools requested it we wouldn’t do it,” he said.
Mr Wood said the feedback his office had received on the posters had been excellent.
“We’ve had ours for 18 months and had not one complaint,” he said.
Mr Wood said he had not been critical of the State Labor MPs who had distributed the posters to schools as it was up to the individual agreements they had in place.
“As long as you make sure the political message is not the reason for doing it and ensure that the child’s education comes first,” he said.
The multiplication tables are contained within a brochure from Mr Wood that talks about the importance of education and the family’s role in providing children with emotional stability and social development.
The brochure also details ways in which the Australian Government is helping local families, and lists 100 ways that parents can praise their children and 100 ways that children can thank their parents.
The times table itself features a headshot of Mr Wood and a link to the Government’s numeracy and literacy website, where families can “find out more about (the Government’s) back to basics approach”.