Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) access to high quality education, skills and training opportunities is a fundamental right;

(b) too many Australian students are prevented by social, economic and geographical barriers from accessing this right;

(c) the inequity in education, skills and training opportunities has been exacerbated by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Government's decisions to, amongst other things, increase the cost of higher education, refuse to fund free access to public TAFE and neglect of the needs of the school system;

(d) in contrast, Labor has a range of commitments to make education and training more accessible, including to:

(i) make child care cheaper for 97 per cent of Australian parents;

(ii) support 10,000 New Energy Apprenticeships;

(iii) introduce an Australian Skills Guarantee;

(iv) provide 465,000 free TAFE places and up to 20,000 new university places; and

(v) invest $440 million to improve ventilation in classrooms and provide more counselling and psychological support; and

(e) more needs to be done to assist students who are disengaged in learning, or who do not respond to traditional school programs; and

(2) further notes that one of the standout success stories in achieving this is, Hands on Learning, a program first piloted at Frankston High School in 1999 by Russell Kerr, OAM, that builds wellbeing, engagement, and attendance by creating opportunities for students to discover their talents and experience success through significant and authentic hands-on projects, that results in 95 per cent of Hands on Learning students finishing school, getting an apprenticeship or getting a job.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognise that everyone has the right to education. The Convention on the Rights of the Child provides:

… the education of the child shall be directed to:

(a) The development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential …

As general comment No. 13 on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Right notes:

Education is both a human right in itself and an indispensable means of realizing other human rights … education is the primary vehicle by which economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and obtain the means to participate fully in their communities … education is … one of the best financial investments States can make.

And, importantly, the comment notes:

… a well-educated, enlightened and active mind, able to wander freely and widely, is one of the joys and rewards of human existence.

We know in this country that simply providing access to education—simply saying there's a school or a TAFE or a training facility or a university—is not enough. We need to do more to make sure not only that children and students can afford to go and get training and education, including higher education, but that they are engaged and connected in that education and training. That is particularly important when it comes to schooling. Not all students learn in the same way. Not all students engage in the same way. But all students, all children, have a right to a quality basic education.

The move under the previous federal Labor government towards needs based or Gonski funding was an important move towards acknowledging this and an important ambition towards fairer funding and provision of education. But we know there is so much more to be done. There was more to be done before the last two years, when the pandemic and necessary shutdowns and remote learning impacted children. They impacted their education, some of their socialisation and, in too many cases, their mental health. There was more to be done before that, and there is so much more to be done now as a consequence of health measures, which were necessary, impacting on education.

A 2019 publication produced by Save the Children, called Future directions—hands on learning: keeping young people connected to education and building capacity for future success, noted:

… there should be a greater focus on engagement at school through developing a positive learning disposition. Engagement is defined as not just turning up, but also a student's connection with learning.

The publication said:

Education is a proven game-changer which can help improve social mobility and mitigate inequality of opportunity, particularly for young people who experience disadvantage.

It went on to say:

Engaging all Australian children in their learning journey is key.

In 2019, Save the Children—which has taken over running of a program that comes from my electorate, from Frankston, called Hands on Learning—called on the federal government and other governments to make this engagement a priority in 2019 and into the next decade, and that call has so much more power now. But nothing has been done in response to that call. Governments need to make engagement in learning and access to learning a priority.

What is Hands on Learning? It's a practical school program that builds on wellbeing, engagement and attendance by creating opportunities for students to discover their talents and experience success through significant and authentic hands-on projects. It was piloted at Frankston High School in 1999 by Russell Kerr OAM as a response to too many years witnessing struggling students with different learning styles written off prematurely and not given the opportunity to realise their potential.

It's in 100 schools now, and 95 per cent of students that engage go on to stay in education, get a job or get an apprenticeship. It finished as a top HundrED Global Collection education, not-for-profit program. It should be funded to go from 100 schools to about 300 schools across this country. I've seen firsthand at Frankston High School, Elisabeth Murdoch, Mt Eliza college, Patterson River Secondary College and across my electorate how great it is for children, their families and the community. I call on federal government to fund Hands on Learning.

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