Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise also to support the member for Parramatta's motion that acknowledges the bicentenary of Catholic education in this country. Catholic schools have educated millions of Australians over the past 200 years, as said in the member's motion, and today Catholic schools are one of the largest providers of schooling, second only to government schools. I think Catholic schools educate about one in five Australian school-age children.

I also want to note that the national mass was celebrated simultaneously across Australia on the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians on Monday 24 May to mark the bicentenary of Catholic education in Australia. National Catholic Education Commission Executive Director Jacinta Collins said that the national mass was 'a highlight of the bicentenary year' and went on to say:

As a faith community, our National Mass to celebrate 200 years of Catholic education holds significant meaning …

I think the member for Parramatta and the member for Berowra have touched on the scale of Catholic education in Australia. It's quite unique in the world in terms of the service it provides. I think that, at the present period of time, the Catholic education sector serves over 770,000 students and employs over 100,000 staff in roughly 1,800 schools. The chair of the Bishops Commission for Catholic Education, Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher, said:

The bicentenary of Catholic education in Australia invites us to remember the past with gratitude, be inspired by that story in the present, and look forward with faith in the future.

He also said:

After two centuries of service, we in Catholic education are determined to make an even greater contribution to the lives of our young people, families, church and society.

And he congratulated the Catholic education sector on its 200th birthday.

Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Comensoli led a celebration of mass with more than 600 Catholic school students and teachers at St Patrick's Cathedral. One thing to note is something others have mentioned about the Catholic schools in their constituency. In my electorate of Holt we have seven wonderful Catholic schools that have delivered a profound contribution to our local community. These schools are St Agatha's Primary School in Cranbourne, St Francis de Sales Catholic primary school in Lynbrook, St Kevin's Primary School in Hampton Park, St Peter's College in Cranbourne and Cranbourne East, St Therese's Primary School in Cranbourne North, St Thomas the Apostle Catholic Primary School in Cranbourne East and Trinity Catholic Primary School in Narre Warren South.

I think there was some comment that was made about not only the presence of the schools and the education that they provide students but also the community good that's done by having these schools in our region, which I would completely agree with as someone who went through the Catholic education system as a student at a Christian Brothers college both in Kalgoorlie, in the far-flung regions of Western Australia, and also in Adelaide. I was fairly uniquely placed. I think the brothers and the poor teachers who had to teach me were uniquely placed as well! I can only say, having been through that and having put our two children through the schooling system, that we're very pleased that it served the purpose for which we sent them and I think my parents would have sent me, which was a faith based, values based education system that offers a comprehensive environment to develop the total person, not just educate a person.

I also wanted to say that, particularly when I went to the Christian Brothers College in Adelaide in the seventies, it was a tough period of time economically in Australia and in South Australia. One of the things I wanted to acknowledge before I move on to that particular story I wanted to tell was that, if you look at the diversity of people that actually attend Catholic schooling, you see something that's not fully appreciated by the community generally. When my children went to St Paul the Apostle South, there were children from 70 different nationalities that attended that school. In schools in my region it would be the same or more. People from every corner of the globe come and participate in the Catholic education system, and I think that's a wonderful thing, particularly with some of the churches—I note in particular St Thomas the Apostle in Cranbourne East, which is particularly that with the Sri Lankan community.

The last point I wanted to make about the economically difficult circumstances in the seventies. My mother—we were a single family then—could not afford to pay the school fees, so I went as a 14-year-old and spoke to the principal of the Christian Brothers College. He was a very formidable brother called Brother McApion. I basically said we couldn't do it. As a consequence of that conversation, I was awarded a scholarship on the spot and I was able to attend school without paying fees. There's a lot of work that's done by them, but I certainly want to thank the Christian Brothers College for that. Remember the people who can't afford the fees; they get taken care of. (Time expired)

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