Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

Well, then why did the program have to be withdrawn? Because $1 billion was wasted on it. What you have to do when you invest in education is make sure you get outcomes.

Opposition members interjecting—

Those opposite are saying, 'Tell that to the schools.' I don't know whether those opposite remember, but I remember visiting a school and there were the computers lined up—there was no money given for maintenance; there was no money given to update the software—so the computers were sitting there in the cupboard. That was $1 billion wasted.

Opposition members interjecting—

The point I am making for those opposite is their schemes of just throwing money at everything—their Building the Education Revolution and their computers in schools programs—show that you have to target that investment. You have to make sure that that investment is going to get results.

There are Australians who work incredibly hard doing a raft of things and pay taxes; they expect us to make sure that we get good outcomes from that investment. On this side of the House, that is what we are determined to do. I say to the shadow minister: I began discussions with my state and territory colleagues when I met with them in Adelaide, and we had a conversation about what we will be looking for and what we want to see when it comes to early childhood education.

We have asked them to provide data on what they will be doing to lift attendance, because, as I have said, if we want to get the significant returns from that investment then we have to make sure that our investment in early childhood learning gets results across the board.

We want to make sure—once again I'll point to South Australia, because I know that they're doing very good work in this area—that we can work with them to lift that attendance rate from 57 per cent across the board, and especially when it comes to Indigenous children of 38 per cent and vulnerable and disadvantaged children at 50 per cent. We want to make sure that we're getting the results, like we are seeing from our record investment in child care, where we've seen the most significant reforms in child care that this nation has seen. Around one million Australian families who are balancing work and parental responsibilities are benefiting from this package. Why? Because it's targeted. This is quality, affordable child care. We want to make sure, for those who are working or who are working and earning the least, that they are able to get access to that quality and affordable child care. What we are seeing from that investment is proper results and outcomes. That is what we are determined to do when it comes to early childhood learning.

The shadow minister is right: this is a very important area. It's one where we do need to invest, and that's why this government has invested significantly, with $2.8 billion worth of investment since 2013. So our record clearly shows through those national partnerships that we are committed to investing in this area and working co-operatively with the state and territory governments to ensure that this investment gets the outcomes that it needs.

We want to lift that national attendance rate, which in 2017 was only 70 per cent, and 59 per cent for Indigenous children and 65 per cent from low socioeconomic areas. That is what our commitment is. It's a commitment to work with state and territory governments to make sure that the investment we put in will lead to the results and outcomes that will mean that all Australian children have a very bright future when it comes to their education.

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