Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to speak on the motion moved by the member for Curtin recognising that, across the country, year 12 students will be completing their final exams and their last days as school students. I especially mention my godson, Alexander Crocker, who I know is listening, and wish him well in his exams and in his football career in the United Kingdom. The end of 13 long years of school is an exciting time for students and their parents. It can also be an anxious time. To the Year 12 students in Moreton, and everywhere but especially in Moreton, students graduating from Yeronga State High School, Macgregor State High, Runcorn State High School, St Thomas More College, St Aidan's Anglican Girls' School, Corinda State High School, Brisbane Christian College, Sunnybank, Our Lady's College at Annerley, Milperra, the Murri School, Carinity Education and maybe some of those schools right on the border such as Holland Park State High and the Islamic College: I encourage all of you to enjoy your last few days of school and, whatever your results, remember they alone won't define your journey through life. Whatever your next chapter holds be it higher education, vocational education and training or entering the workforce, I wish you well. I would also ask you to take a moment, before you leave the school grounds for the last time, to thank staff and teachers. This can be a stressful time for them and teachers, remember, have to go through this every single year; you only have to do it once. If there are one or two special teachers who have inspired you or supported you or held you up, please especially take a moment to let those teachers know. We have some exceptional teachers in our schools, and they don't always get the accolades or reward that they deserve. A kind word of gratitude from you will mean the world to that teacher. And also: buy them a gift.

It's funny how, even when it's many years since you walked from the school grounds for the last time, you remember those teachers who managed to make that connection—the teachers who made the puzzle fit. I had many. One I will particularly mention was Lorna Locke, my grade 6 teacher. Lorna had also taught my very wild and unruly older brother Mark. Lorna actually took the time to teach me that learning is always a good use of my time, and that lesson has stuck with me my whole life. I bet most of us can't recall too many single lessons from our school days but we can remember those teachers who left a lasting impression. Likewise, from my 11 years of teaching high school English, there aren't many actual classes that I recall, but I do remember the faces of the students, especially the ones who left me feeling that our future would be in good hands.

Teachers today have far more pressures than when I was in front of a blackboard. Households are under far greater financial stress, which can flow on to students. The internet makes teaching, and parenting, much more complicated—and, sometimes, even dangerous. The students are under pressure to find a pathway in a world where the job market is changing rapidly, with the gig economy and so many other pressures. Most students who decide to go into higher education will be signing up for debt, and, thanks to the Morrison government, that debt now has to be repaid much sooner, making their chances of affording a home an unattainable dream for many.

Education is transformation, but education costs money—money so schools can hire more teachers and teacher aides; money so struggling students can have the one-on-one attention they need to succeed. We need every child to be learning every day. We need children who are struggling to be identified early so they can obtain the help they need to catch up. We need children who are gifted and talented to have the opportunity to stretch themselves, because they will create the jobs of the future.

Two-thirds of students in Australia—2½ million children—are educated at public schools. Under the Morrison government's funding regime, all private schools will reach or exceed their fair funding level. Good luck to them. But 90 per cent of public schools never, never will.

This government is in its seventh year of presiding over Australia's education system. How are they doing? Well, let's prepare their report card—because, sadly, I need to report that they're failing. They're failing to reverse the alarming declines in reading, writing and maths—the core business of education. In every state and territory, kids are going backwards in some of these critical areas of education. This is not just a tragedy for each of those students; it's a tragedy for the Australian economy. A good education is the ticket to a lifetime of opportunity, opening doors to rewarding and well-paid jobs, and an educated workforce is critical to a strong economy. Malcolm Turnbull abandoned proper, fair school funding. Tony Abbott dumped reforms designed to lift standards in the basics—reading, writing and maths. Now, sadly, our kids and our economy, under Prime Minister Morrison's stewardship, are paying the price.

See this speech in context