Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I appreciate the opportunity to speak out against the campaign of misinformation spearheaded by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, the member for Sydney, and to speak in support of the coalition government's education reforms. The fact is simply that there are no cuts to the amount that the federal government provides to schools. We have seen a positive trend in combined Commonwealth funding for schools in recent years. From 2017 to 2027, the funding for schools across all sectors is due to increase by a sector average of 53 per cent.

There are 27,909 students studying in my electorate of Dunkley, and on average the funding for each student is set to increase by $6,557 over the next 10 years. This increase is forecast to bring total Commonwealth funding for Dunkley schools to $1.25 billion over the next decade. All 51 schools in my electorate of Dunkley will be getting an increase in funding. I know it must be a disappointment to those on the opposition bench but, contrary to their claims of cuts of $22 billion over the next 10 years, the Turnbull coalition government is in fact increasing funding to schools nationwide by $18.6 billion, which leaves the member for Sydney's calculations out by over $40 billion.

On Monday evening I joined with the Minister for Education and many others, including four principals from schools in my electorate—Flinders Christian Community College, and its various campuses, and Bayside Christian College—for the Christian Schools National Policy Forum here at Parliament House. These principals—Nick Haines, Cameron Pearce, Andrew Watts and Chris Pryor—were all very pleased with the funding changes and the transparency and consistency of the new funding model, which ensures fairer, needs-based funding for our education sector. Like the other 49 schools in my electorate, both Flinders Christian Community College and Bayside Christian College will receive increases to their funding over the next decade. In particular, funding for Flinders Christian Community College will go up by $715,400 next year, with a total increase of nearly $43 million by 2027. Funding for Bayside Christian College will go up by $230,900 next year, with an increase of over $14 million by 2027.

The reception from the community in Dunkley has been overwhelmingly positive in response to the school funding changes. I would refer those who find themselves doubting the positive impact it has had for over 9,000 schools Australia wide to the answer the Prime Minister gave in question time on Monday, where he quoted the delighted comments of the principal of Bayside Christian College in my electorate in a letter he wrote to me on Monday. Returning to the member for Sydney's assertions: despite her insistent claims of what the opposition would do if they were in government, they need to explain to the country why they have chosen to play politics with the funding of 9,000 schools across the country rather than to vote with the government to increase their funding.

I note that our nine Catholic schools in Dunkley will also be getting increased funding, noting that block funding is given to the Catholic Education Commission in each state to redistribute as they see fit, as has always happened. Indeed, Catholic schools in Victoria will be getting a 3.5 per cent increase over the next four years in annual average per student funding. In my electorate next year John Paul College will get a funding increase of over $350,000, Padua College will get an increase of over $770,000, St Anne's School in Seaford will get an increase of over $48,000, St Francis Xavier School will get an increase of nearly $60,000, St John's School will get an increase of over $91,000 and St Macartan's School will get an increase of over $154,500. And there are three other schools in my electorate that I should also mention will be getting an increase next year. St Jude's School in Langwarrin will get an increase of over $81,000, St Augustine's in Frankston will get an increase of over $88,000 and St Thomas More Catholic School will get an increase of over $71,500.

Members opposite continue to make comments which astound me, and they choose to deny the benefits that these education reforms provide to people in my electorate. So I would ask that they support these reforms of the government.

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