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

They are approved for funding and the Leader of the Opposition wants to take their money away. No amount of interjecting will cover up that fact. Every member of the House should look at this list.

Members opposite have a choice here. They can back their school communities and schools that have been approved for funding, which are rolling out their trade training centres now, or they can back the Leader of the Opposition. They cannot back both. Each and every member of the opposition will have to make a choice, ‘Do I back my local schools approved for funding knowing that they are going to get those funds, or do I back the Leader of the Opposition?’ And member by member we will call them to answer that question.

Today I call the member for Dunkley to answer that question. He has not been a good supporter of the Leader of the Opposition and he will not be a supporter of the Leader of the Opposition after this. The member for Dunkley wrote to me about the Patterson River Secondary College trade training centre proposal. He said: ‘I believe the local community would benefit greatly from this project, which would help young people and future job seekers develop new or existing skills and improve their employment prospects. It is my pleasure to endorse this project. Please let me know if you require any further information in support of this excellent proposal.’

It was funded in round 2 for $19 million. It is a consortium involving a large number of schools. On this side of the House we want to deliver the $19 million that has been promised. The Leader of the Opposition wants to cut it. The member for Dunkley is the first member of the opposition that will need to make a public choice. Do you back the government and your local schools getting this funding or do you back your leader? You do not have the choice of both and you will need to make it publicly and on the record as will every member of the opposition. Mr Speaker, I table the list.

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