Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health) Share this | Hansard source

I think the Assistant Minister for Defence missed the talking points. We all got the talking points this week. You are meant to be talking up the 'innovative Australian economy'. You are meant to be talking up the 'agile nation that we live in'. We know that the Prime Minister loves to talk about innovation. 'Innovation' is his new buzz word.

Unfortunately, while he talks a lot, he does not walk the walk when it comes to innovation. Anyone serious about an innovative future for this country would not exclude education from that conversation. We know that education is the building block for an innovative future. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister has missed that important point in his talk about innovation. If he did understand it, if he did pay attention to it, he would not be cutting $30 billion from our schools and billions of dollars from our higher education system. In fact, what we have on the books, in the budget, is a 20 per cent cut to our universities. The only thing standing in the way of that 20 per cent cut is Labor in the Senate. If those on the other side had their way, they would have pushed through a 20 per cent cut to our universities—not very innovative thinking.

The Prime Minister thinks he talks about education when he says, 'I'm friends with David Gonski.' That is the extent of his statement about education—'I am friends with the guy that wrote the education policy.' It is now time that the Prime Minister actually becomes more than friends and listens to Mr Gonski, and funds years 5 and 6 of the Gonski agreements. That is the only way we will ensure that we can lift our standards in our schools so that we are globally competitive and continue to grow our economy through an innovative future. The clear evidence that the Prime Minister does not understand the importance of education is that he moved the 'minister for cuts to education' into the position of minister for innovation. If you do not understand the link to education and innovation, of course that sums it up, I think.

To be honest, it would be good if the Prime Minister actually got out to some schools. Often we hear the Prime Minister say that resources do not make a difference to schools and that resources do not improve school attainment. He should get out to be member for Bendigo's electorate. I was out there with the member for Bendigo, and the message was loud and clear: resources make a difference. Our classrooms do need that investment. Our classrooms need different support, different investment. Schools know what they need on the ground. It is time to support those schools. The Prime Minister should get out to some schools and actually start talking to teachers, students and parents on the ground.

While he is at it, it is O Week this week. Perhaps the Prime Minister could go onto campuses and explain how his plan for $100,000 degrees is going to improve innovation in this country. All of the evidence indicates that attaining a higher education degree is so critically important to the future of this country. In fact, two-thirds of jobs in the future are going to need a bachelor degree level of education. If the Prime Minister were serious about innovation and serious about an innovative agenda, then he would reverse cuts to universities, reverse cuts to our schools and, while he is there, reverse the billions of dollars of cuts to research.

It is an election year. It would be remiss of me not to say that there is an alternative out there. The clear alternative is Labor's plan for education. We have plan for all levels of education—investing in our schools, investing in our TAFEs and investing in our universities. It is costed. It is a plan that has been endorsed by the education sector. It is one that will drive an innovative future not just for today but for the future. This is what the Prime Minister fails to understand. If we are going to have long-term success and prosper in this country, we need to invest in the people of tomorrow—the citizens of tomorrow. They are our young people. It is time that the Prime Minister actually paid attention to that. He should get out a little more. This week is O Week. He should get onto campuses and go out to schools. The message that we hear on this side of the House is that our plan is the one that actually invests in the future and delivers for our economy. Those on the other side are completely ignoring our education system.

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