Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. The fact is that this budget is about setting up Australia for the future, and education is a key component of this budget. We on this side of the House know that education is the great enabler. With education and training we develop our skills, we increase participation, we deliver productivity and we ensure prosperity. That is what this budget is all about. I am pleased to be able to outline some of the initiatives—$800 million worth—identified in this budget which will deliver important education reforms for Australia.

This budget provides $425 million over four years for national rewards for great teachers. These rewards will foster the development of a nationally consistent performance management system for teachers for the very first time. From 2014, the top 10 per cent of teachers identified through this system will receive a bonus of up to 10 per cent of their salary. There is extra new funding in this budget, with some $200 million more in support for students with disabilities. This initiative is really important because we can now deliver therapy services, in-school training, teacher training and additional technologies to government schools, Catholic schools and independent schools that have kids with disabilities in their classrooms. I was especially pleased at the response that the government had to that initiative.

There is $18.1 million for the Teach Next program. Here is an opportunity to create new pathways for teachers, particularly those with expertise in areas like maths and science. There is a $7 million investment in the development of an Australian baccalaureate, enabling Australian secondary students to acquire a credential of international standing—increasingly important in a globalised world. There is an additional $222 million in funding for the National School Chaplaincy Program. This will mean that an additional 1,000 schools, particularly schools in regional, remote and disadvantaged Australia, have access to chaplains. I did note that this was welcomed by the Australian Primary Principals Association. As well as that, from 2012, Indigenous students in regional and remote Australia will have access to the Indigenous Ranger Cadetship initiative. This will give those Indigenous students an opportunity to gain recognised qualifications and then gain work in the Working on Country Indigenous Rangers program, which is very successful around Australia.

These reforms are supported by education stakeholders. The Business Council of Australia is congratulating the federal government for the leadership it is providing on school education reform. The Australian Federation of Disability Organisations, the Australian Special Education Principals Association and the Parents Council are welcoming the More Support for Students with Disabilities Initiative. I did note that the Australian Special Education Principals Association said 'applause to the Gillard government'. They called it a huge step forward, and indeed it was.

This government continues to deliver great reforms and solid investment to education, and that has been a hallmark of this budget. We do that on the back of record investment, nearly double what the coalition had spent, making sure that every kid in our schools in Australia gets access to a great education and that every school is a great school. So tonight the opposition leader has to tell us whether or not he will continue to maintain the $2.8 billion in cuts to education that the coalition have identified—cuts to teacher quality, cuts to students who are learning in low-SES schools, cuts across an education agenda that this government is delivering at this important time. Every child deserves the best education they can get. This government is delivering that education to every child.

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