Ken Ticehurst (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The purpose of the Schools Assistance (Learning Together—Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Amendment Bill 2007 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 always fighting for extra support for our kids in Dobell. Our children are the future of Australia. This bill therefore represents a major investment in the future of our society.

By increasing financial assistance to schools, the Australian government seeks high-quality outcomes for all students. The Howard government is committed to supporting parental choice in education and to ensuring that all schoolchildren have access to a quality learning environment. The Howard government has no interest in competition between different school sectors for the available government dollars.

The Labor Party believe that parents of students in independent and Catholic schools should receive no public funding. They think that all families who send their children to private schools are wealthy, but that is simply not the case. I know families in my electorate juggling three jobs to keep their children in the Catholic school system. The truth is that every time parents on the Central Coast decide to send their children to private schools they are effectively saving the Australian taxpayer around $10,000 annually.

The Howard government believes that every parent, having paid their taxes, deserves some level of public assistance to support the education of their child regardless of which school their child attends. The Australian government will provide a record estimated $33 billion in funding for Australian schools over the four years from 2005 to 2008. This is the largest ever commitment by an Australian government to schooling in Australia. Funding to Australian schools has increased by close to 160 per cent, from $3.5 billion in 1996 to $9.3 billion in 2006-07. That is an amazing commitment when you consider that education is the realm of state governments, and at this stage they are all Labor governments.

In 2006-07 the Australian government increased its funding to state government schools by an average of 11 per cent. It is disappointing that state and territory governments, which are responsible for adequately managing the schools they own, increased their funding by only 4.9 per cent. Should state and territory governments have matched the Howard government’s increased rate of funding, there would have been an extra $1.4 billion for Australian state government schools. Once again state government schools have been let down by state and territory Labor governments.

The additional funding provided in this bill demonstrates the Howard government’s commitment to ensuring that students receive a high-quality education no matter what school they attend, government or non-government. The bill provides increased funding to the extremely successful $1 billion Investing in Our Schools Program. There has been an overwhelming response from school communities in my electorate for funding under this program introduced by the Howard government. Through this program, the Australian government is providing local communities with a voice to determine what they think is important for their school that is not being funded by the state governments. Almost 90 per cent of state government schools across Australia have received funding through the Howard government’s Investing in Our Schools Program. Due to the overwhelming demand by schools, the Prime Minister recently announced additional funding for the program. This bill will provide an additional $181 million to invest in our schools through this program. The additional funding will provide an extra $127 million for state government schools and an extra $54 million for non-government schools. When this fourth round is complete, total funding provided to Australian schools under the program will be almost $1.2 billion. The additional IOSP funding will be targeted towards schools that have received little or no funding to date under the program. Sixteen state government schools in my electorate of Dobell have the opportunity to apply for funding in round 4 due to receiving an IOSP funding total below the national average of $100,000 or having not yet applied.

This successful program is delivering on a range of often overlooked but still important educational items and infrastructure projects. These do not make it onto the priority list of state and territory education bureaucracies. This funding has given schools safer, healthier and more positive areas for learning as well as alternative education spaces that will significantly enhance the students’ quality of life. From visiting the many schools in my electorate, I have witnessed the fantastic projects school communities have been able to complete with the help of the IOSP funding. Last week I visited Erina Heights Public School to celebrate the completion of the school’s new carpeting in hallways, a P&C uniform shop and storage unit, and craft room refurbishment—projects which were funded by the successful program.

In addition to this program, funding is provided to state government and non-government schools through the capital grants program to improve school infrastructure. Under the capital grants program an estimated $1.7 billion is being provided by the Howard government over 2005 to 2008 to assist with the building, maintenance and updating of schools throughout Australia.

I recently visited Lakes Grammar Anglican School for the opening of stage 1 of the senior school for years 9 to 12. The Australian government contributed $435,000 towards the $7.5 million capital works project, which includes a design and technology room, science lab, five general classrooms, computer lab, library, PE store room, two multipurpose courts, car park and link road from the junior school. These outstanding facilities will help ensure all students are encouraged to realise their potential and attain their goals. This project is a good example of what can be achieved when the government works together with local school communities.

The bill will appropriate $11.7 million for capital funding for non-government schools for 2008 to maintain the existing funding level. The final measure in the bill is to provide $9.445 million for the national projects element of the Literacy, Numeracy and Special Learning Needs Program for 2008. This is to ensure continued funding to the end of the quadrennium. Literacy and numeracy are the most important skills a child needs to succeed in their education. These national projects emphasise the Howard government’s efforts in raising the literacy and numeracy of disadvantaged students.

Over my time as the federal member for Dobell, I have enjoyed my interactions with the principals, teachers and students from many fine local Catholic, independent and state schools. They are rich in variety and are all committed to working for a bright future for their students. I have seen with my own eyes the high standard of teaching at many schools in each of these sectors and the excellent partnerships between teachers, students and parents.

Last week I visited Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic School at Long Jetty and saw great strides in achievement in numeracy and literacy levels. In fact, they are achieving level 12 in kinder, and by the end of year 1 they are achieving level 18. This has been a fantastic turnaround in the last four years for this particular school. As a parent and grandparent I know how important these partnerships are to a quality education. I also know how important it is for parents to have the right to choose where they send their children to school. The Howard government strongly support the principle of choice. Importantly, whether parents choose to send their children to a state, Catholic or independent school, we want to be able to support them in making the choice that they believe to be best for their children.

Today I was amazed to read in the Sydney Morning Herald an article titled ‘Ten years of stinking toilets’. When the Minister for Defence, who is at the table, was Minister for Education, Science and Training—

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