Chris Hayes (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to rise to support the Education Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 and the Schools Assistance Bill 2008 in the House today. These two bills before us allow the government to begin tackling the big challenges on Australia’s horizon by providing long-term plans, not short-term bandaids. I have taken a deep interest in education, probably stemming from the fact that I am a parent and, as a consequence, have a very clear view of how my children, and now how my grandchildren, are accessing education throughout the system. I am genuinely committed to improving the educational outcomes for all Australians.

I would like to start off by saying that the government came to office with the promise of new leadership. In addition to industrial relations and, particularly, our position with respect to Work Choices, there were two fundamental issues that stand out in my mind and that the people of my electorate in Werriwa were very much enlivened by leading up to the last election. One was the education revolution for all Australians; the other was the apology to the stolen generations. As promised by the Rudd government, the apology to the stolen generations was the first order of business of the Rudd Labor government in this parliament. The new relationship with Indigenous Australia was exemplified through the first national welcome to country, something, as I say, that had never occurred in this place. With the knowledge of the past, respect for the people and a commitment to the future, the apology is the basis for a change in attitudes for all Australians and the basis to move forward. It was an opportunity to formally recognise the past injustices and to commit to the challenge of the future. It was the chance to move forward and work closely with the states and the territories to close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage.

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