Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Well, there you go! There has always been a terrific demand for members to support our local champions and this will go a long way, Minister, to helping us support them. I do thank you very much and I know the House will be appreciative of your excellent work there.

Little could be more important in our education revolution than providing a means for parents to provide for their children’s education needs. I share with many thousands of Australian families the cost of education, with two sons currently completing their university studies, but I have not forgotten the additional financial demands made during the early and middle years of education. Unfortunately, additional assistance as intended in this legislation was not available when my sons, William and Julian, were at the Forth Primary School, Ulverstone High School and then The Don College, the local senior secondary college. But, with two teachers for parents, the importance of investing in our children’s education was very clear in our household.

The Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 is the result of an election promise and, like nearly every other piece of legislation brought before this House in 2008, is clear, practical proof of a government honouring its election commitments to Australian families. It is a $4.4 billion commitment over four years from the Rudd government to help make it easier for parents and encourage them to provide for their children the best they can to keep them engaged in school. It is an important financial commitment and needs to be passed through the parliament as soon as possible to allow time for its promotion to parents around the country so that they can keep the records they need to substantiate a claim come tax time next year. Indeed, like a number of members in this place, I have already commenced a public awareness campaign in my electorate encouraging parents to keep their receipts in relation to eligible education expenses.

I would add that this is no small measure, with an estimated 1.3 million families and some 2.7 million students expected to be eligible for the benefits. The refund is available as a tax offset of 50 per cent of eligible education expenses. This might be for laptops, home computers, printers, paper, education software, school textbooks and associated materials and trade tools. The expenses for establishing and maintaining a home internet connection are also included, sensibly. Today, this is an important part of education support. Indeed, education does not begin and end at school.

It surprised me to read the results of the Brotherhood of St Laurence’s 2007 Education costs survey. It has been quoted by many members of this House through the Bills Digest, but I think it is worth reiterating, particularly for those who may be listening to this debate. It found that 72 per cent of respondents could not afford items that would improve the education experience of their children. It also concluded that some 60 per cent had difficulty paying for books and that almost half reported difficulty paying for equipment. The same report revealed that two-thirds did not have a home computer with internet access.

That survey was directed at lower income folk, but its conclusions are disturbing. While it is hard to believe, we cannot let it continue. Being without the internet in this day and age is like being locked out of the library. While it does have its pitfalls, it can also be hugely important and valuable, particularly when coupled with an inquiring young mind. Those of us who are a little longer in the tooth may be a little wary of the research benefits of the internet, but the younger generation have grown up with it and know how to navigate through the reliable and less reliable sources in cyberspace. The education tax refund should help by providing support to upgrade computers or providing a high-speed internet connection for the first time to some households. Indeed, one member—I think it was my colleague the member for Deakin—pointed out that one can purchase parts in order to make a home computer. I would find that a very productive activity and an expense that one could claim would give an excellent result.

I acknowledge that there is a case for extending the refund to include other items such as assistance to pay for school uniforms, textbooks, excursions and sports experiences, for example, and this would be well and good. However, unlike the opposition and their 12-year track record of providing little to no assistance to families in relation to education expenses, this government is specifically assisting families to offset ITC centred information learning or trade skills expenses, or at least seeking to encourage families to invest in these contemporary tools of teaching and learning. This refund initiative is just one of an array from this government to strengthen the education of all Australians—and I stress again: of all Australians. Despite the criticisms of some, we are not interested in playing favourites. We want to give support where it is needed.

I would like to repeat some of the extensive and generous plans that are part of what we deem to be an education revolution. Contrary to what some may believe and you may read in the media, this is in fact an education revolution. Revolutions begin in small ways, are resourced in small ways and grow, and that is what is happening with education. We have some opposite, and some unkind to our education revolution, who would see it all happen within six or seven months. This is a group of people who had 12 to 13 years to do something about it but now they expect it to be done in 12 to 13 months. Revolutions do not just happen overnight. This is a $19.3 billion effort in the education sector, a major indicator of just how serious this government is about supporting our schools. It includes the digital education revolution to improve the number and quality of computers in schools across the nation. I have already seen the benefit of this with schools in my electorate among those to benefit from the first round of the scheme.

We are also working toward the development of a quality national curriculum, despite those opposite wishing to personally attack some of those that are constructing our curriculum. Why am I surprised? It is something that will be important in preparing our students for the 21st century. It includes more to improve school infrastructure and maintain what schools already have in place. A national action plan on literacy and numeracy will also be important to ensuring the basics are put in place to give young people their best chance at life. And with $2.5 billion over 10 years we will see schools across the nation set up trades training centres to enable young people with practical skills and aptitude to hone these skills in their early school years to come out ready to address the massive skills shortage we have and to ensure we do not have it again.

The Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to introduce the education tax refund or the ETR. The ETR will provide a 50 per cent refundable tax offset for eligible education expenses up to a maximum of $750 for children undertaking primary education studies and $1,500 for children undertaking secondary education studies. Under the plan eligible families will be able to claim 50 per cent of eligible education expenses up to $750 for each child undertaking primary school studies to provide a maximum tax offset of $375 per child per year. For those children undertaking secondary school studies, families will be able to claim 50 per cent of their eligible expenses up to $1,500 per child to give a maximum tax offset of $750 per child per year. It is a refundable tax offset and therefore will apply to eligible applicants regardless of their tax liability. That is, it will also be paid if the person has no tax liability. Taxpayers who are entitled to the ETR include those in receipt of family tax benefit part A payment for a child; taxpayers and/or their child who receive other payments that preclude them from receiving family tax benefit A3; or taxpayers who are independent students and receive payments such as youth allowance, disability support pension or Abstudy living allowance.

The ETR will apply to eligible expenses incurred from 1 July 2008 and will be claimable when income tax returns are submitted. Therefore, the ETR will be claimable from 1 July 2009, and that is why it is important to reiterate that families wishing to claim the refund should collect and keep their dockets and so forth. Eligible expenses for the ETR include the purchase, lease or hire purchase of computers and computer related equipment such as printers and disability aids and associated costs, a home internet connection, computer software, school textbooks and other paper based school learning material, including stationery and course prescribed tools of trade. If a child transitions from primary to secondary education during a financial year, the ETR will apply at the secondary rate for the entire year and education expenses in excess of the taxpayer’s offset limit for a financial year can be transferred to the subsequent income year.

I am very pleased to support this Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008. Before I finish altogether I would just like to acknowledge the number of schools in my electorate that I have had the privilege of visiting recently, and I hope to use another occasion to more extensively discuss what I was able to do and what I was able to experience in those schools. I would like to acknowledge the following schools and the work of their leaderships teams, their teachers in particular, the students themselves, and their parents and friends associations. In particular there is the Yolla District School, Burnie High School, Parklands High, Reece High School, Cooee Primary—a great name—along with Penguin Primary—another good name—East Ulverstone, the Moriarty Primary—another interesting name and a magnificent little school—the Nixon Street Primary School, the Oakwood Brethren School at East Devonport, the North West Christian School, at Penguin and my old stamping ground of 25 years, The Don College, which is going through some fundamental changes in the next year in Tasmania with post grade 10 education. And there are many other schools that I am looking forward to seeing particularly in their break-up nights towards the end of the year. It gives me great pleasure to support the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008.

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