Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Services, Local Communities and Territories) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Lyons for his question. I know that he knows how much power education has for changing the opportunities for regional Australians. I know how important this government's education reforms will be for students right across Australia, reforms that have now passed this House despite being opposed by the opposition.

The government's National Plan for School Improvement will deliver around $6 billion in additional funding for regional and remote schools over the next six years. This is a critical investment in delivering a stronger, smarter and fairer Australia. We are making this investment because we believe every student deserves access to the best-quality education regardless of where they live. We know that from OECD studies there is a difference between the performance results of metropolitan and remote schools. Indeed, 15-year-old students enrolled in rural schools are the equivalent of 1½ years behind their city counterparts for reading, maths and scientific literacy. That is why the government has a plan to make sure schools in regional and remote Australia will have the resources they need to overcome this disadvantage.

Under the National Plan for School Improvement, education funding is delivered to those areas most in need. We recognise that schools in rural Australia face unique challenges because of their location and often because of their size. Under our plan, smaller schools will receive extra funding, in recognition that they need additional resources, so they can offer their students the same services as those in larger schools. That is why around 40 per cent of the additional investment in education over the next six years will go to regional and remote schools.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Absolutely. The reforms that have passed the House today will mean that children in regional Australia will get extra help if they need it. The reforms will mean that regional students will have access to more resources, more skilled teachers who will stay in regional Australia—reforms that the opposition voted against—and money and opportunities that would never be realised under the coalition.

The New South Wales Minister for Education, a member of the Nationals, who represents the people of regional Australia, knows how important this is. I know there are National members who care deeply in this House about their communities—communities outside those major metropolitan cities that do not have access to the same educational opportunities as people in larger cities. I know there are National members who want students in their electorates to have the best chance of a great education. Sadly, they have tied themselves to the coalition's decision to deny regional and remote schools additional resources. People in regional Australia will have an absolutely clear choice—a choice between an additional $6 billion over the next six years for regional schools or cuts of $16.2 billion under the coalition. (Time expired)

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