New South Wales Premier Chris Minns says the role Catholic schools have played in the state’s history is “overwhelmingly positive.”
Speaking at the Catholic Schools NSW Education Law Symposium 2025, he went over the storied history of faith-based learning and schools in the state, dating back centuries.
“From the very start of schooling in New South Wales over 200 years ago when the first church built its first schoolhouse in Parramatta, Catholics have been running schools and teaching children and playing a central role in formal education in New South Wales,” he said.
“It means we have this system in Australia growing up over centuries where more than one in five children in our state now attend a Catholic school.”
Minns said Catholic education ranged from preschool to university, with the church having the requisite skills and community to run these establishments effectively.
“When you combine the church’s commitment to social justice with its deep roots in the community, with the history of teaching for more than two centuries along just in this country, it’s a fantastic recipe for quality education and genuine pastoral care,” he said.
Minns, whose father, John Minns, was a schoolteacher in the public system, as well as a prominent figure at St Declan’s parish in Penshurst, as was his mother.
The premier said former students of his father still remember the late principal, who died last year, and the impact his teaching had on their lives.
Addressing the educators at the symposium, Minns said his father had a “remarkable legacy” only a teacher could have.
“Most professions do not have this, and I can tell you that you’re making a massive difference in the lives of young people,” he said.
“It’s a mark you’ll leave long after you’ve left that school or even your profession.”
The premier gave the speech at the Catholic Schools NSW Education Law Symposium, an annual conference for the state’s Catholic teachers to listen to speakers, network, and gain insight into their field.
The speakers at the symposium included Catholic Schools NSW CEO Dallas McInerney, Bishop Daniel Meagher, and NESA CEO Paul Martin, among others.