Stuart Henry (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on a bill which is particularly important to my constituents in Hasluck. The Schools Assistance (Learning Together—Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Amendment Bill 2006 contains provisions which are vital to the continued success of a fantastic school in my electorate of Hasluck—that is, Corridors College, a non-government school in Midland. I must say that it is very nice to see school students here in the gallery to hear part of this debate, although it is a bit of a shame that the member for Brisbane could not lift the level of it—talking about dirty deals et cetera. The only dirty deals that are done in this House are on the opposition benches, between their union supporters and those seeking preselection in the Labor Party. They are the only dirty deals that are done in this House.

Corridors College was established in 1998 to provide educational opportunities for kids who have been excluded from mainstream schools or who just cannot adjust to formal school environments. These young people are in danger of dropping out of school entirely, which would be a tragedy for them and for our communities. Corridors College provides a unique opportunity for them to continue their education. Essentially, it is a high school for street kids. Almost all these kids are involved with the state child welfare and juvenile justice systems. They have often been subject to physical, emotional and sexual abuse; neglect; exposure to violence and drug use; poverty; and homelessness. They struggle just to survive.

Under the act, the non-government special schools automatically have an SES funding level of 70 per cent of the relevant average government school recurrent cost amount, which is the highest general recurrent funding level. Recognition as a special school does not always include schools that cater for socially and emotionally disturbed students at risk of dropping out of the education system. This bill corrects this anomaly in existing legislation, providing maximum general recurrent funding to these schools. This is consistent with the original intention of the SES funding arrangements for these schools. This translates into a five per cent increase in recurrent SES funding for Corridors College, amounting to about $50,000 per annum. This recognition of and funding for the school, which provides such a worthwhile and important service, will be warmly welcomed.

Dr Terry Parsons, a dedicated educator who has been Principal of Corridors College since 1999, is very pleased that the Howard government is putting forward these amendments. I would also like to congratulate him on his plans to extend the vocational and training options for students at Corridors, and I look forward to working with the school towards this goal.

At this point I might mention that the school is very well served by its board of directors. The chairman of the board is Andrew Gaynor and the deputy chairman is a gentleman by the name of Jim Thomason. These two gentlemen are well known to me for the huge contribution they have made over a good number of years in vocational training programs for disadvantaged youths. I certainly compliment them on their continued support of and involvement with these disadvantaged people in our community. I know that their involvement with Corridors College will be an ongoing success, and I congratulate them for making the effort to be involved.

Returning to the substance of the bill, its purpose is to amend the Schools Assistance (Learning Together—Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Act 2004, which provides funding to states and territories for government schools and funding for non-government schools for the 2005-08 funding quadrennium. I am proud to say that the Howard government will provide approximately $33 billion in funding to schools between 2005 and 2008. This is the biggest commitment ever made to schooling by an Australian government. This legislation provided for investment in school infrastructure, providing an additional $1 billion of Australian government funding for the Investing in Our Schools program. This helps Australian schools build and restore school buildings and school grounds by providing additional funds to schools for these sorts of projects.

In my humble opinion, one of the best features of the Investing in Our Schools program is that, in government schools receiving funding, it is the community—parents, students, teachers, principals and parents and citizens associations—who decide the infrastructure priorities, not the state government bureaucrats. I know that this is relished by the people and the school communities of Hasluck.

I note that today in the chamber the member for Jagajaga has also attacked the Investing in Our Schools program—along with the member for Brisbane just a little while ago—making all sorts of claims and complaints of bias. She complained that Labor seats receive less funding overall. It seems obvious to me that the coalition simply holds more seats in parliament than the Labor Party and holds the vast majority of large rural and regional seats. Furthermore, all schools are eligible for the Investing in Our Schools program. It is a school based initiative, an opportunity for schools to take advantage of funding being provided by the federal government. It does not go through state governments, because it needs to be transparent. The full benefit of that funding needs to go to the schools, not to state governments.

It is very difficult to give equal funding to Labor seats when there are so few, particularly when Labor members do not promote this initiative in their electorates. They need to get off their backsides and do something about it in their electorates to make sure that schools in their electorates benefit.

See this speech in context