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

I thank the member for Greenway for her question. We have been working hard over two years to make sure we keep the Australian economy strong. We have been working hard so that Australians have got the benefit of jobs—800,000 jobs created since we came to government. And our economic indicators are the envy of the world. The Australian economy is in the lead in the world, and we should be proud of it. We should be particularly proud of it because the Australian community working together built this economy.

But we have never taken anything about the future of our economy for granted. We have worked each and every day to make sure Australians have the benefit of that prosperity in the future. That is about delivering the infrastructure our nation needs, including the National Broadband Network. It is about building a clean energy future. It is about making sure we meet the demands of employers for skills so people can have jobs. It is about extending university places to more Australians, including those from poorer households. And of course the list goes on of how we have prepared for a strong economy for the future.

But there is nothing more important in that preparation than what is happening in Australia's schools. What is happening in Australia's schools today will define the strength of our economy in the future. That is why we are so determined to take the opportunity, following the independent review—the once-in-40-year opportunity—to drive school improvement, and to ensure that we drive school improvement for every school in the country. We want to see Australian children—each and every one of them—in a great school. We want to see improvement in every school. This is our perspective, and I shared it with the Association of Independent Schools yesterday. I took that opportunity to talk about the benefits for every child in every school.

The Leader of the Opposition took the opportunity to outline that every public school is on his hit list. He said current funding for private schools is an injustice.

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