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

As I recall, I was speaking just before question time and had remarked, as the member for Jagajaga had just come into the House, on her criticism of the Howard government. I remarked on its fantastic performance with respect to education and additional funding in support of education across the board. Immediately prior to my contribution the member for Brisbane made some comments about how important it is to spend money on education and training, and that you cannot spend too much. I agree with that. I think the Howard government has demonstrated that time and again since 1996.

In particular, I mention an initiative that will be a fantastic opportunity for many young Australians in developing their skills—that is, the Australian technical college. This is another great example of how the Howard government is using innovation in developing skills in education and in providing opportunities for young Australians to get out into the workplace and enjoy a successful and productive life and career by obtaining the education and skills they need.

Certainly I have had considerable experience in the skills development and apprenticeship training area over a fairly lengthy period of time, with apprenticeships and traineeships in the building and construction industry. I know only too well the great satisfaction that many young people in Australia get out of undertaking an apprenticeship and going on and becoming a tradesman, and in many cases going into small business. This is the whole point of the Investing in Our Schools program: it gives school communities and our broader community the opportunity to set their own infrastructure priorities, without being constrained by the bureaucracy, the state education departments. This program allows for investment of up to $150,000 in each school, on top of its normal funding.

The Commonwealth has had to do this because the state Labor governments are just not putting sufficient money into school infrastructure. For example, in my own electorate, Gosnells Primary School and High Wycombe Primary School have been begging the state for some time now to allocate resources to fix up the toilets—an essential service that needs to be there for hygiene and the normal process of human life. And yet the state government is doing nothing about it. As has so often been the case, the Howard government has been identifying these needs at schools, seeking the support of the community and providing funding at the local level, because the state governments just are not doing their job.

The member for Brisbane had the audacity to talk about dirty deals being done with respect to these funding arrangements and somehow implied that Labor held electorates have been disadvantaged. There has been similar criticism from the member for Jagajaga. That is an absolute joke. This funding program is the most open and transparent program. It is available to all schools across Australia. It is effective and cost-effective; it is the best bang for your buck. These grants are assessed by fully independent panels and the Australian government has accepted the panels’ recommendations in full. Members opposite are trying to give a helping hand to their state counterparts—and they certainly need it—who are very disappointed that they cannot get their hands on this money as it goes through the processes. This money goes straight to the schools, with no state ministers to muck around with it or funnel it into their pet projects. Schools are getting the full bang for their buck out of these programs.

How can this funding be a dirty deal? In my electorate, High Wycombe Primary School has received funding to the tune of $72,253. This school happens to be—as I said before—in the state electorate held by the Western Australian Treasurer and Deputy Premier, Eric Ripper, who has just announced this week a record half-year surplus of over $1 billion, but who cannot provide funding for schools in his own electorate. In the latest round of funding from this program to my electorate, Gosnells High School, which I mentioned before, has received $150,000. Gosnells Primary School received $69,459; Gooseberry Hill Primary School received $146,960; Caversham Primary School received $150,000; Helena Valley Primary School received $99,500; Huntingdale Primary School received $147,000; South Thornlie Primary School received $63,000; and Woodbridge Primary School received $107,690. That is a new school in the electorate in the state seat of Midland. We have a senior cabinet member of the state government who is not providing the sorts of resources to these schools that should be provided. They are relying on the Commonwealth to provide this support. It is an abrogation of their responsibility to the community, to the school children across Australia and to Western Australia particularly.

Yule Brook College in Maddington received $72,000. That is an exceptional primary school, and is again in a safe Labor seat. Every single one of these schools, as I have mentioned, is in safe state Labor seats. Only two schools are in Liberal held electorates. That is the sort of situation that the member for Jagajaga and the member for Brisbane are being critical of. They are critical because we are supporting Labor constituencies and their schools in state Labor seats, ensuring that we pick up what the state government have not picked up.

The only dirty deals around here are the ones done between the trade unions and the Labor Party. We again notice the absence from the House of the member for Hotham and the member for Corio, members of this House who have to pick up on these dirty deals to ensure that they have the opportunity to take up their seats on the opposition benches in the future. Labor is doing deals to dump sitting members and replace them with union hacks. That is not surprising, really. Ask the member for Hotham and ask the member for Maribyrnong and they will tell you what it is like—

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