Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to make some relatively brief comments on this bill before the House. The Commonwealth provides around 30 per cent of the total funding of capital works in government schools, and this has been the case since the 1970s. The Whitlam government increased the amount of Commonwealth funding to government schools. Commonwealth funding has been a major source of funding to government schools since the 1970s or before.

Commonwealth funding as a percentage of the total capital works spending in government schools has fallen since this government came to office. There has been no increase in a general capital works program since 1996. If you listened to the daily rants of the Minister for Education, Science and Training in question time you would think that it was this government that started federal government funding of capital works in public schools or that they had dramatically increased the amount of capital works funding in Commonwealth schools. The opposite is the case, but you would not know that if you were a disinterested observer of question time. You would assume that it was this government that had invented it and it was this government that had increased it dramatically.

The Schools Assistance (Learning Together—Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2006 extends the funding under the general capital works program for 2009, 2010 and 2011. This is in accordance with normal practice and it has been the administrative arrangement for some decades. This allows for long-term programming, scheduling of works and efficient project management. I am confused as to why there is no similar bill coming forward for the Investing in Our Schools program. I was glad to hear that the member for Canning had promoted himself to minister for education and announced it was continuing, but it would be nice to hear it from the real minister for education.

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