Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am a proud member of this government committed to delivering a fair, needs based, sector-blind funding system for all Australian schools. The proposal outlined in the Australian Education Amendment Bill 2017 will ensure that students and schools with the same need attract the same Commonwealth support through a needs based, transparent funding model. The present situation is that recurrent funding varies depending on negotiated arrangements with state or territory governments. This is good news for schools and students around Australia in my electorate of Petrie. Every local school will be better off—I say again, every local school will be better off—under the proposals outlined in this bill: $18.6 billion will be distributed to Australia's state, independent and Catholic schools over the next decade.

This legislation will also strengthen the linkage between Commonwealth financial assistance and the implementation of evidence based reforms to improve student outcomes. The federal government has also launched, as everyone would be aware, a new online calculator to ensure transparency, and I encourage all parents to check how much funding their school is entitled to. Needs based funding that rewards results is a win for parents and students around the nation, particularly in our local area, where we will see a funding increase of $369 million benefit some 27,200 students.

I was surprised by the announcement just a couple of weeks ago, in early May, from the minister for education, the Prime Minister and David Gonski himself, and the reason I was surprised what that this year in Queensland and right around the nation we are contributing some $17½ billion to education. Last year we contributed $16 billion, so there has been a big increase this year alone and over the last four years. I clearly remember campaigning in 2013, when I was elected as the federal member for Petrie. We made a commitment—as you would remember, Mr Deputy Speaker Goodenough; you came in in the same year—to ensure that Gonski was funded over the forward estimates. Labor somehow continues to lie on these different issues, saying that we did not do this or we do not do that, or it was not the original Gonski agreement. They continue to fib on this issue. I do agree with the member for Melbourne, for once, when he says that Labor have decided to play politics with schools. That is what they love to do—they always love to do that.

Let us have a look at what some people are saying about this. What does David Gonski himself say? David Gonski AC, at a media conference on 2 May 2017, with the Prime Minister and the minister for education, said:

… I'm very pleased to hear that the Turnbull Government has accepted the fundamental recommendations of our 2011 report, and particularly regarding a needs-based situation … I'm very pleased that there is substantial additional money, even over indexation and in the foreseeable future.

He went on:

… when we did the 2011 review, our whole concept was that there would be a school's resource standard which would be nominated and we nominated one, and I'm very pleased that the Turnbull Government has taken that …

Thank you, David Gonski—I will take that on board and I will quote you here today. If Labor are not happy with David Gonski himself saying that this is a good deal, maybe they will accept Peter Goss from the Grattan Institute:

Today's announcement on school funding is welcome. The Coalition has set out a 10-year goal of every school being consistently funded by the Commonwealth.

I could go on. I was surprised that we made this announcement to contribute $18.6 billion over the next 10 years and really make it fair and ensure that all schools around Australia are treated equally, but I am even more surprised when I hear the shadow minister for education and Deputy Leader of the Labor Party say, 'Oh, we are voting against that; we are not going to support it.' Even the Greens have said that they will vote against this. So they are voting against $18.6 billion in additional funding that our government is giving that is well thought out, that it is budgeting for—not like the money that they put in the forward estimates back in 2011, which was never going to be funded. I am very surprised that they are voting against this. It is outrageous. Every school in my electorate—I have them all listed here; there are 40 or so—will be better off under this deal, and I will be campaigning hard on this at the next election, making sure that every parent of every child in every suburb of my electorate knows that Labor is voting against this education bill. They are voting against it. I have seen some hypocritical things in my time, especially in this place. I have seen some backflips on a whole range of things.

And let's not even talk about the NDIS. They are voting against that as well. They are voting against a fair Medicare increase to help fund the NDIS. I have a good friend whose child had a disability and died at the age of two. I think it is just outrageous that Labor will not vote to fund Medicare 0.5 per cent. If someone on $10,000 a year—currently not paying any tax—decided they wanted to help fund the NDIS, they would pay 50 bucks a year. And Labor does not support that. They do not support it. They want to make sure NDIS is unfunded. But I am getting off topic. I will get back onto schools.

I will be campaigning hard in my own seat right up to the next election. Arethusa College is an independent school in my electorate with a lot of kids that have dropped out of school and gone to their school. It has a lot of kids with special needs. In the next 12 months under our bill they are going to get another $278,200. That is why I am supporting our education bill. Aspley East State School in my electorate is a Queensland government school. What do you think they are going to get next year? $92,600 extra. It is a great little school down in the southern end of my electorate. Aspley Special School is another government school. It has 105 students with disabilities. They are going to receive $47,000 next year under the Turnbull government's Gonski 2.0 bill. That is why I will be voting yes.

Aspley State High School is a great school in the southern end of my electorate. The principal there does a wonderful job. We know—I know from getting around to schools—that staff make a big difference in school. It is not just about the money. It is also the quality of the staff and the quality of the principal. Within five minutes of meeting a principal I can tell whether they are any good. I have a lot of good principals in my electorate. Where there are good principals, the schools always get good results. So teacher quality and staff quality is essential, as well as school autonomy, and we have a lot of independent government schools in my electorate. There will be $129,400 extra for Aspley State High School, next year alone. That is in 2018. I do not even mention the next nine years after that. It keeps going up.

The Australian Trade College North Brisbane trains a lot of tradies, young people that want to become apprentices—in hairdressing, motor mechanics; they have plumbers there. They will get $83,200 next year. Bald Hill State School is a wonderful state school. I did not get the chance to get down there this week. I was going to see Kylie Conomos, the school chaplain, who does a great job there. There is a great feel about the school. They are getting $71,400 next year. St Benedict's College is a Catholic school in my electorate, at Mango Hill. They will be getting $133,500 next year. That is why I will be voting for this bill. St Benedict's Primary School, also at Mango Hill, will get $160,800 next year.

Bounty Boulevard State School, the biggest primary school in Queensland, will get $144,900 next year alone. Bracken Ridge State High School will get a $72,600 increase next year if the bill passes the House. If Labor vote against it and the Greens vote against it and it does not get through, I will be making sure Bracken Ridge State High School knows that Tanya Plibersek, Bill Shorten and the Labor Party voted against it. Bracken Ridge State School will get $41,300 next year. Christ the King Catholic Primary School is a great little school in Deception Bay in my electorate. Nick Hurley, the principal up there, does a great job. A lot of the teachers do a good job. It is a fairly high needs area; $86,600 next year alone for them. Clontarf Beach State School—$55,700 for them next year alone, if this bill is passed. Clontarf Beach State High School, if this bill is passed—$152,200 next year.

Deception Bay Flexible Learning Centre, a Catholic school which helps kids in Deception Bay who have perhaps dropped out of school or a struggling, will receive $102,700 next year—for those people in the gallery. Over 10 years it goes up by millions of dollars. Those opposite think it is a cut—outrageous. Deception Bay North State School will receive $78,300 next year. Deception Bay State High School will receive $171,800 next year. By the way, this does not include the state government's increase; this is just the federal increase—fully funded. These blokes think there is a $22 billion cut. What planet does the Labor Party live on? Deception Bay State School, which is a struggling school but a great little school with good staff, will receive $53,200 in 2018. Grace Lutheran College, which is an independent school, a big school, will receive $547,000 next year. Grace Lutheran Primary School, which is just down the road from where I live, will receive $141,900. Griffin State School, which has been open two years for the people who live in Griffin and is a great little school, will receive $30,500 next year if this bill is passed. If it is not passed, you can blame Labor. They are voting against the bill. It is outrageous. Hercules Road State School will receive $110,100. This is another Queensland government school. Humpybong State School, another great little school—it has been going for over 100 years in my electorate—will receive $112,500 next year. Jabiru Community College will receive $168,400. The member for Herbert is laughing. I wonder what St Patrick's will lose out on next year when those opposite vote against this bill.

Let's have a quick look at Lilley—Wayne Swan is going to vote against this bill—and some of the neighbouring schools in my electorate. I went to St Flannan's school, which is a small primary school in Zillmere. It is going to receive $151,500 next year because of this bill. Sandgate District State High School, which services a lot of the students in Bracken Ridge, will receive $165,000 next year. Both of those schools are in Lilley. St John Fisher College—a Catholic girls high school in my electorate—will receive $173,500 in 2018. Those opposite are going to get up after me and say that there is a cut to funding in this bill. That is what they are going to do.

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