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

Against the hubbub, I am asked the question: what does this mean? Well, I will tell you what it means: cuts that will push up fees in non-government schools in New South Wales, cuts that will reduce support to government schools in New South Wales, cuts that will slash jobs for TAFE teachers and increase fees for students. It is worthwhile reflecting for those opposite that the biggest cuts we have seen to education in New South Wales were when the last Liberal government was in power and Terry Metherell united the entire education community and the state against him. I wonder if the member for North Sydney remembers that.

The fact is that we will always invest in education on this side of the House. This is absolutely core to what Labor governments do. But we now know, from what we see in New South Wales and from what the Leader of the Opposition has promised by way of $2.8 billion of cuts in education, that that would happen here too if they were ever to come to power. (Time expired)

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