Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to speak on this MPI today, because making sure that we have the best education system is so important to people on this side of the House. But it is also important to the young people in the gallery today. I see some schoolchildren in the gallery today. We should not be doing it for ourselves; we should be doing it for them.

A bipartisan approach to this is so critically important. But what we have heard from the other side of the chamber today is just no. 'No, we're not going to agree with you, because you've suggested it.' It is just no, no, no, no, no. There is a long track record of the Liberal Party saying no to initiatives in education. We have had many announcements by the coalition to cut education funding for initiatives that this government put forward, very sensible initiatives. But of course the Liberal and National parties have said no: 'Because it was the Labor Party's initiative, we are just going to say no.'

The first of those was the trades training centres in schools. I have seen trades training centres in my local schools, and they have made a real difference to students there. They have ensured that young people who do not necessarily feel that they want to follow an academic path can get a certificate I, II or III. This is quite in contrast to the elite trades training centres that the previous government put up. They did not allow every school student to get access. In fact, only 200 students in my electorate could get access to that school. Instead, through a huge investment by this government, we have been able to ensure that many other school students get the opportunity for a trades training option at school. But of course the coalition is going to cut that, as announced in August 2010.

The Digital Education Revolution is another very important initiative. (Quorum formed)It is not surprising that the opposition are playing these interfering tactics, because I have a long list of cuts that they were willing to make to education: to the Digital Education Revolution; the Smarter Schools National Partnership for Improving Teacher Quality; the Smarter Schools National Partnerships for Low Socio-economic Status School Communities, the Reward for School Improvement; and the list goes on. They want to cut all of these programs and just say no.

Their most recent negativity has come from the member for Sturt, who said that he will just repeal the Gonski reforms. He is not interested in looking at the system that actually will deliver better outcomes for students. And, let's face it, that is what we on this side of the House want to ensure. We want to ensure that no matter where you come from around this country you get a great education that will be the passport to the rest of your life.

We on this side of the House know, as do many academics and people who have studied in this area, that socioeconomics does make a difference in your opportunities when it comes to education; it does affect how you might go in the future. That is why there has been a focus by this government on literacy and numeracy and on low socioeconomics. But the Manager of Opposition Business, who spends more time doing that than focusing on education, has said that socioeconomics does not affect children's outcomes and chances when it comes to education.

I think everyone on this side of the House would be appalled to hear that. He should go out to some schools in low socioeconomic areas to listen to the teachers, listen to what they need, listen to what is affecting them on the ground and actually come up with a policy that addresses some of these issues to ensure that we can continue to make our school system a much better system.

On this side of the House we are focused on that. We are focused on how we can look at funding that has not been looked at for many, many years. But there is a false argument coming from those on the other side, and that is that somehow the Labor Party is against private schools. That is not true. We have made clear that we will assist all schools, whether that be through our Building the Education Revolution, which those on the opposite side opposed and which we delivered to all schools, or whether it be through the Digital Education Revolution which we delivered to all schools, or through the school chaplaincy program or our $200 million for students with disability. We are delivering to all school sectors.

Of course, we know those on the other side of the House will not deliver to all school sectors. We know those on the other side will just make cuts to public education—cuts to students—often in areas that need the money the most. The member for Sturt does not even acknowledge that to be the case. But of course they will make cuts to public education. That will affect students in my electorate quite significantly. I think the comments on this by the Leader of the Opposition were really quite poor. Once again, we are seeing the Leader of the Opposition trying to create his old fear campaign of misinformation in the community. He has form on this, and he will continue to do it.

But on this side of the House we are going to get on with the job. The Howard government did not have a very good record when it came to schools. We have heard a lot about our record—a record I am very proud of. They talked a lot about a national curriculum in the 11½ years they were in government—a lot of talk, no action. It took the election of a Labor government to actually deliver a national curriculum, to do the hard yards, to get it in place and to ensure that we are actually rolling that out. Of course, there was some money and infrastructure to put up flagpoles. Flagpoles have been put up quite readily in my electorate. That does not radically change the education system. I hate to give that news to the opposition, but it does not radically change it. It is important, but it certainly does not radically change it.

As the member for Greenway mentioned, as part of the Digital Education Revolution many electronic whiteboards were put into classrooms, and they are delivering exciting— (Time expired)

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