Kym Richardson (Kingston, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the Schools Assistance (Learning Together—Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Amendment Bill 2007. I do so because of the incredible impact that programs like the federal government’s Investing in Our Schools Program are having in my electorate of Kingston. Federal Labor opposition members lose sight of the simple fact that this Howard government funding process was a competitive one, where the maximum funds would go to the neediest schools. Secondly, it has been made available only because of the Howard government’s excellent economic management.

This bill seeks to maintain the Australian government’s commitment to Australian education and to providing schools with the tools and infrastructure they require to provide a quality education to our children. One of the programs extended in this bill is the Investing in Our Schools Program. I cannot speak highly enough of this program. The program was introduced because of the failure of the state governments to live up to their education responsibilities, especially when it came to the provision of infrastructure projects in schools. As usual, the federal government stepped in to pick up the slack.

In my electorate the program has been embraced with open arms. There has been a great deal of appreciation from students, teachers and parent governing bodies alike. I would like to bring to the attention of the House the story of Flaxmill Primary School. They took the opportunity to apply for funding to install reverse-cycle air conditioning in their classrooms. When I first found out about this project, I was appalled at the fact that in this day and age the South Australian Labor government, which should be flush with funds after their GST windfall, were expecting students to learn and teachers to teach in classrooms that were not air conditioned in summer or heated in winter.

See this speech in context