Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the shadow minister for education for his question. In interjections yesterday he said to this parliament that he thought money spent on computers in schools was not worth doing. He does not want Australian students to have the learning tool of the 21st century. If he believed Australian students should have the learning tool of the 21st century then presumably when he was a member of the government he would have ensured that the government did something comprehensive to get computers into schools. But of course it fell to this government, when we came into office, to audit and see that some of the students in the schools were without computers that were less than four years old. Many of them were in schools where the computer to student ratio was eight to one or worse—eight kids, nine kids, a dozen kids or 15 kids fighting to get access to one computer, left with completely outmoded technology or not having access to computers at all.

This government is acting, as part of its digital education revolution, to make sure that students have access to the learning tools of the 21st century. The shadow minister can go around with his hysterical misrepresentations all he likes, but the facts are these: the government is delivering its program; it has delivered round 1; it is in the middle of delivering round 2. This is working to get computers to kids in schools.

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