Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the pivotal and vital role that our schools play in preparing our children to be active and contributing citizens;

(2) notes:

(a) that school education is an essential component in providing children with the skills and knowledge they need to reach their full potential, including academic, social and communication skills; and

(b) the important work that schools undertake to ensure that students are prepared for the challenges of further study and working life, especially in new emerging technological and scientific fields;

(3) acknowledges and thanks school leaders, teachers and support staff for their dedication, commitment and professionalism in ensuring not only that every child learns, but is also nurtured and cared for; and

(4) further notes:

(a) that the one factor that makes the biggest difference in a child's learning is the quality of their teachers;

(b) the challenges faced by teachers and support staff in providing individual care and assistance to students who are struggling with various aspects of their school life; and

(c) the need for governments to fully support teachers in this important work.

The greatest and most important investment we can make in the social and economic fabric of our nation is in education. If we want to be a smart nation, an innovative nation, then we have to invest in its foundation, and that foundation is schools and education in the early years and through to middle school and high school, which are so important. We can talk as much as we like about an innovative nation, about innovative technologies, about being a smart nation, but the reality is that if we do not invest in education and schools it is nothing but talk. That is why the previous Labor government, under the guidance of Julia Gillard, undertook the most extensive review of school funding to ensure that funding was based on students' needs and schools' needs. In other words, where there were needs, there would be enough funding to take care of those needs and bring the students up to certain standards.

This government's new school funding policy is a joke. You can try to dress it up any way that you like, you can try to pretend otherwise, you can ties bow on the school package, but the facts expose it for what it is: a $22 billion cut to schools. At the same time we are cutting from schools, you continue wanting to give big business a $65 billion tax cut. What type of government rips money from schools to give it to the multinationals? That is exactly what took place the other night in the budget.

In my state this equates to around $265 million that will be ripped from South Australian schools in the 2018-2019 year. Let's take a look at how much schools in my electorate of Hindmarsh will lose: Edwardstown Primary School, $375,000; Ascot Park Primary School, $135,000; Saint Leonards Primary School, $317,000; Forbes Primary School, $298,000; Cowandilla Primary School—the school that I actually went to—$372,000; Flinders Park Primary School, $285,000; Henley Beach Primary School, $463,000; Lockleys Primary School, $142,000; Plympton Primary School, $311,000; Henley High School, $1.325 million; Thebarton Senior College, $759,000; Plympton International College, $428,000; Lockleys North Primary School, $445,000; Fulham Gardens Primary School, $97,000; Seaton High School, $882,000; Underdale High School, $610,000; Kidman Park Primary School, $432,000; West Beach Primary School, $234,000; Grange Primary School, $670,000; Fulham North Primary School, $440,000; Westport Primary School, $216,000; West Lakes Shore School, $643,000; Torrensville Primary School, $288,000; Warriappendi School, $53,000; and Glenelg Primary School, $676,000. That is just the state schools in Hindmarsh. We are yet to hear what the full impact will be on the nongovernment sector, but we gather it is also likely to be hit pretty hard.

Glenelg Primary School in my electorate has a fantastic principal, Rae Taggart. Under Labor's plan, the school was due to get more than $850,000 in Gonski funding over the next two years. Instead, under the Turnbull government's plan, the school will get only $91,000 in 2018. This is what the principal said: 'The money the school had received had gone into intervention programs, and we have taken children who are struggling with their learning out in small groups and given them the tuition they need.' That is what the principal said. These children will now miss out.

Parents, teachers and schools deserve the truth about what is happening under this government and what they are offering. They certainly deserve better than what this government is offering. We have a Prime Minister that talks about innovative nations and innovative technology, but he is not willing to fund the foundations of it. They certainly deserve better. Labor will restore the $22 billion that this government has cut from the schools, and we will do this because we believe there is nothing better than education. (Time expired)

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