Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate on education. It will be a big year, 2019. Yes, it will most likely be the year of the next federal election, but it's also a year of significant anniversaries. It's the 100th anniversary of the establishment of British Airways—about a year ahead of Qantas. For TheLord of the Rings fans, it's the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Tolkien Society. But there's a very significant anniversary in 2019: it's the 30th anniversary of the last Labor surplus! I'd have to say that it is a very significant anniversary, because there's a big difference between our education policy and Labor's education policy, and the Prime Minister pointed it out in his news conference today: our education policy is paid for. It is not an unfunded promise. Our policy is actually paid for. The PM pointed this out quite clearly.

On this side of the House we know how to run an economy. On this side of the House we can manage the economy so we can pay for our promises. Labor's education policy can best be described as nothing more than sleight of hand—an exercise in financial gymnastics rather than education policy. The previous member on this side pointed it out. The member for Bowman pointed it out with regard to Labor's alleged Gonski reforms. There wasn't much money in year 1 and there wasn't much money in year 2, year 3 or year 4, but come to years 5 and 6 of Labor's proposed education policy and the expenditure took off into the stratosphere. Why? Because they didn't have to fund it. Their education policy was largely an unfunded wish list. Labor's policy was nothing more than an unfunded fairytale. They had a very similar approach to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The expenditure went way beyond when they would have had to budget for it.

We on this side of the House have, by contrast, a policy which will provide funding that is needed for schools, but in a way that is economically responsible. I'd like to look at those measures now. The government is providing an additional $4.5 billion over 10 years, from 2019 to 2029, to non-government schools: $3.2 billion will be invested over that period to support those schools which improved data has shown have the greatest need; and $1.2 billion will be invested over the period to create a Choice and Affordability Fund to support parental choice and diversity in the schools system. The fund will provide extra support to address challenges in the non-government schools sector, such as supporting schools in regional, rural and remote areas, and it will provide a flexible source of support for schools that need a helping hand. In addition, there will be interim funding of some $170.8 million in 2019 to provide additional funding early in 2019 to allow non-state schools to plan with confidence for the 2019 school year.

We have a responsible policy, not an unfunded fairytale. We are a government that will be bringing the economy back into surplus. Who can forget, in 2012, Wayne Swan, the good old member for Lilley, saying 'the surpluses I announce tonight'? Well, we are still waiting to see them. We are still waiting to see those illusive surpluses provided by the member for Lilley, but what I can say is that we have a policy that addresses the issue of needs in schools. This side of the House believes in choice in education. We believe that parents should have the opportunity to choose the type of education that they want for their children and that the federal government should support not only a great public sector but the Catholic and independent sector as well. I'm certainly happy to speak on this debate, and I'm certainly looking forward to the implementation of this. (Time expired)

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