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

To the member for Menzies: I believe it is a good idea to benefit 1.3 million families with the costs of getting the kids to school. I do believe that. I also believe that it is appropriate that there is welfare conditionality when people, despite assistance and despite work, are not putting their kids in school. That is why we introduced the school attendance measure. I note that, for all of the cant on the other side, it is this government that has got on with the hard jobs of welfare reform in the interests of children, like ensuring that weekly benefits are contingent on kids being in school. It is one of our proud reform measures.

See this speech in context