Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Cunningham, with whom I have participated in Education and Employment Committee hearings, is generally a constructive member of parliament, and I have enjoyed working with her on some of those occasions. It is just a bit disappointing for the gallery and for us here that there was not more constructive dialogue in our MPI. Child care is an interesting case study. It is an investment in the future. It is an investment in our kids—and I know there are some up there in the gallery—and an investment in our education, because it is a great form of education, with the quality childcare teachers we have. The thing is, we actually put $3 billion into child care. And guess who blocked it? They blocked it in the Senate. So, how hypocritical of them to stand up here and say that we were not supporting it!

The onus, the responsibility, lies with them. They were the ones to block it. We supported it, and we are, on education, investing around 25 per cent more across Australia, including in my state of South Australia, over four years—a considerable increase in funding that will help teachers and help students. But I am sure the people in the gallery know, as everyone else out there in Australian society knows, that although money is important for education there is more to it: there is parental engagement; there is school leadership. These are some of the many important pieces of the education puzzle that Labor continually forgets to acknowledge and focus on, and it does not do the whole discussion of better educational outcomes any justice. We know that over the past 10 years, although there has been a 40 per cent increase in education funding, by the coalition government in particular, our results internationally have declined in some areas. And that is what we are seeking to address, to provide a better future.

I will just touch on a couple of elements of this budget. We have heard about the tax cuts and incentives for small business—the engine room of the economy. That will mean more jobs. That will mean more capital and, hopefully, greater productivity. We have the export trade deals that will open up even further the middle class of Asia for Australian companies, with more Australian jobs resulting and more economic growth and prosperity. I want to say something about defence shipbuilding, in particular, and defence plans for local high-tech manufacturing. We know that, after the last two weeks, there have been 54 defence ships and submarines commissioned in Australia by the federal government, and there were zero from Labor—54 to zero. Not just is it important for those major projects; it is also important for suppliers. I know we have some members here from the state of Victoria and the state of New South Wales. I will just read out a few suppliers, because they might think that their companies are missing out.

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