Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Pearce talked about a number of things in this debate. She talked about little observable action in the last few years. She talked about the fact that there were plenty of reports and recommendations, but one wonders whether in fact she was present during the years of the Howard government. Indeed, after 12 years of the Howard government, there were 24 reports into education and 220 recommendations but not much to show for them. That is why the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 is so important.

The legacy of the Howard government is so tragic for the education of the youth of our country. We have no national teaching standards, no national curriculum, too many children leaving school too soon, too many children incapable of basic numeracy and literacy, and 6.5 million Australians with no post-school qualifications. The 2006 OECD study shows that Australia’s average performance in reading literacy worsened between 2003 and 2006, primarily because of the decline in the percentage of high-performing students and a tail in underperformance linked to disadvantage. It showed that in scientific literacy 40 per cent of Australia’s Indigenous students, 27 per cent of students from remote schools and 23 per cent of students from the lowest socioeconomic quartile performed below OECD baselines. And we do have, by OECD standards, relatively low levels of year-12 education completion. During the 1980s and the early 1990s we saw a doubling of our retention rate for the completion of high school, but that flatlined during the Howard government. Since 1992 we have seen around 75 per cent of students completing high school, according to the ABS schools Australia statistics of 2007. Thirty per cent fewer Indigenous young people reach year-12 qualification as opposed to non-Indigenous young people. So we have seen a tragic legacy.

Having no national curriculum has made a big impact in my electorate. We have 80,000 families moving across state borders and we see about 5,000 military families in a situation where they do not experience consistency in terms of what is being taught to their children. And many of them live in my electorate of Blair, which has the largest military base in the country, at Amberley. I note that the Defence Families of Australia association has come out recently and commended the Rudd Labor government for its proposal of a national curriculum.

The bill which is before us today is part of the education revolution of the Rudd Labor government. As the Treasurer said in his second reading speech on 25 September this year, education is the engine room of prosperity, and it helps create a fairer, more productive society. This bill is also about building prosperity and spreading opportunity. It is a key part of our education revolution. It will help meet the needs and the costs of children’s education in my electorate of Blair and it will help parents to allow their children to fulfil their educational expectations and advance to the best of their respective abilities.

The budget included $4.4 billion to create a new education tax refund. This is a refundable tax offset of 50 per cent of eligible education expenses for children undertaking primary and secondary school studies. About 1.3 million families—about 2.7 million students—will be eligible for the refund. My electorate and others will see families in private schools and in public schools benefit. It is not about the old, antiquated notions of providing for one system over the other; it is about helping children who attend private schools and children who attend public schools to get the best education possible. For primary school children, it will allow eligible families to claim 50 per cent of eligible education expenses—up to $750 for each child, providing a maximum tax offset of $375 per child per year. For children undertaking secondary school studies, families will be able to claim 50 per cent of their eligible expenses up to $1,500 per child—being a maximum tax offset of $750 per child per year. Parents and others entitled to family tax benefit part A who have children undertaking primary or secondary school studies will be eligible for the education tax refund.

Students living independently from their parents are also eligible for the education tax refund. The tax offset will apply to eligible expenses incurred from 1 July 2008. This is an important initiative to improve our productivity and our participation in education, to build prosperity and to eliminate, as much as we possibly can, educational disadvantage. It is the Rudd Labor government which has seen fit to take on this task. So much was said by the Howard government in relation to educational standards, values and attainment, but precious little was done in real terms to assist the young people of this country to achieve their full potential. The Rudd government is determined to ensure that the Australian populace is as highly educated and skilled as possible.

Education empowers. It gives people opportunity. It builds up individuals. It assists families. It creates a more just and fair society. It is crucial in ensuring that our human capital achieves its latent skill and talent potential. Education is not about the philosophy of the Left or the Right. It is about both. It is about economic growth and it is about social justice. The education revolution that we talk about is about building a stronger Australian economy and a fairer Australia. It should be our aspiration to make our schools cathedrals—cathedrals of learning and opportunity. It should be our desire to ensure that our children want to attend those institutions because they provide the technology, the facilities, the structure, the sporting equipment and the cultural advantage that will enable our children to prosper in education, sports and the arts.

Too often we have heard the arguments of the past. We heard arguments by the previous government, which vilified public school teachers, public schools and state governments in every part—from Western Australia to Queensland—about what they did and did not do. It is a sad fact that poor educational levels seem to go hand-in-glove with intergenerational poverty and disengagement from society and civic responsibility.

People who are better educated are less likely to commit crimes. People who are better educated have higher self-esteem. They desire to provide for their families, they desire to provide for themselves and they desire to provide for communities and for our country. That is what this bill is about. This bill is about providing assistance to families. Under the Howard government, nothing much was done in this area. The Howard government talked a lot but delivered little. One wonders whether in the 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th or 17th year of their legacy they would have done things, but we will never know. Fortunately, on 24 November of last year the people of Australia decided to vote for an education revolution.

This government is putting huge amounts of resources into schools and into assisting families, and that is what this bill is about. The current budget provides that a record $9 billion will be provided to our school system in this country. We will see an increase in funding of 5.5 per cent over 2007 in assistance to state schools and students, and an increase in funding of 3.7 per cent over 2007 in assistance to non-government schools. We saw too much blame, too much vilification and too much denigration from the previous government when it came to dealing with the states. Through the Council of Australian Governments, we are working to settle arrangements to ensure that our digital education revolution, our national curriculum and the rolling out of our trade training centres will be completed. Our national plan on literacy and numeracy will commence in early 2009.

This bill is about improving our education standards and improving the quality of teaching. I have many teachers in my family and many friends who are teachers. It is about rewarding them and others, and it is about providing that our teachers and their students have the best outcomes. In terms of teaching, it is about ensuring that teachers of the highest calibre are recruited and are paid accordingly. We should look at which schools are disadvantaged and which are not. We should measure our school performance. It is critical that we ensure that the parents of students in our schools have as much information as possible about the performance of their children and the schools. In my opinion, public reporting of schools is necessary.

But we should not forget the disadvantaged school communities. Sadly, in my electorate of Blair most of those seem to be in the public sector. We should end the idea of one local school being pitted against another. We should end underfunding in both the public and the private system in this country. The Rudd Labor government is committed to a digital education revolution. We are putting $1.2 billion into that revolution. Already $116 million has been handed over to the states to purchase 116,000 computers.

My electorate has benefited from the trade training centres in secondary schools through the $2.5 billion policy of the Rudd Labor government. In July this year the government announced that 34 projects involving more than 100 secondary schools and worth more than $90 million had been funded in round 1. I am pleased to say that three schools in my electorate, with St Edmunds Boys College being the lead school, will create the Ipswich Trade Training Centre, and nearly $3 million will be given in that regard. The two grammar schools in Ipswich, Ipswich Grammar School and Ipswich Girls Grammar School, joined with St Eddies in making application for funding. I am pleased to say that that funding is being delivered.

Brendan Lawler, the Principal of St Edmunds Boys College, and Wayne Sessarago should be commended for the fine work that they have done in making application and advocating further for the school. But that particular school is undertaking some additional applications for funding. The Local Schools Working Together initiative, which will provide $62.5 million over four years to construct shared facilities between government and non-government schools, is also in their sights. I commend them for the efforts they are making. They are doing this in partnership, and with the assistance of the Ipswich City Council. I commend the work they are doing in making use of what currently would be fairly useless ground on the north side of Ipswich. Just north of the Bremer River, in the Tivoli area, they are seeking to redevelop that particular site with funding that they are seeking from the Rudd Labor government.

It is important that we look at what we are doing for our schools locally. In my area I am pleased that the Rudd Labor government is providing $26.83 million for the relocation of the Amberley State Primary School, and I warmly welcome that funding. I ask that the Queensland government think about a name for the new school. My preferred option, as it is going to be located in Yamanto, would be the Yamanto-Amberley school, because that would ensure continuity of the name and that the historical attachment to the local school would continue. I think that would have broad community support also.

But we are also doing a lot in terms of C&K and preprimary education. It is an absolute fact that under the Howard government we spent 0.1 per cent of our GDP on preprimary education compared to the OECD average of 0.5 per cent. The Rudd Labor government is committed to the creation of 260 childcare centres. We are going to create one in Ipswich, and I warmly welcome that funding. But we need to think more about what we can do to ensure that our schools are the best they can possibly be. The Deputy Prime Minister said on 24 September this year in her second reading speech in relation to the guaranteed funding over the quadrennium of $42 billion for schools and the SES model which we committed to in 2007:

If this country is to succeed in the 21st century we need a schooling system which delivers excellence and equity for every child in Australia.

I think that should be our goal. I think that is what we should do, because, as Access Economics has said, we can create $9 billion in wealth and growth for this country by 2040 if we can raise the level of school retention to 90 per cent. If we can give our kids the opportunities that they deserve and they need, we can create an economically prosperous country that can be of benefit not only to us but also to our neighbours and that can take something akin to the good Samaritan type approach to our neighbours which, unfortunately, do not have the kind of prosperity that we have. We can also ensure that at home, here in this country, our kids can get the best opportunity possible to fulfil their potential and that we do what we can to ensure our children can be everything we hope them to be and everything they aspire to be. For that reason, I commend the bill to the House.

Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—Prior to question time I was giving some insight into the coalition’s record on education, because it has come under considerable criticism. The coalition invested significantly in education both in the public sector and the private sector. I was listening with interest to the member for Blair because I agree with his comments that we should not be talking about one system against another and pitting one educational institution against another. What we should be about is making sure that parents are supported to send their children to school and that children and young people are supported to achieve the best that they can.

When we were in government, we increased the funding after we had paid off Labor’s massive debt in 2004. And thank goodness we did, because it is that surplus that will now sustain us over this period of financial turmoil. There is no doubt. It is on the record that the coalition government invested a considerable amount of money in education. For the record, between 1996 and 2007 the coalition investment in all schools increased by 172 per cent. In real terms, the coalition also increased assistance to families by more than $6 billion. One of the most important and welcome initiatives implemented by the coalition was the Investing in Our Schools Program. This was very much welcomed by many schools in the Pearce electorate and many of them are disappointed that it will not continue. It was attractive because it gave the school communities an opportunity to decide what the priorities were for expenditure in their school and to apply for the funding.

It also picked up many of the deficiencies in the state system. Many of the government schools in my electorate were funded under this program for very basic infrastructure which had been neglected for years by the state Labor government. For example, Ellenbrook Primary School badly needed music and drama facilities. This was not a priority for the state Labor government, who had primary responsibility for funding school facilities. It was the federal coalition government that funded this facility worth $122,100. Even basic things like floor coverings and an assembly area had to be funded under the coalition’s Investing in Our Schools Program at the outer metropolitan school of Gidgegannup. I could go on. There is a very long list here. Darlington Primary School funded an outdoor learning area and the Quinns Rocks Primary School funded library resources. These were the kinds of things that ought to have been funded by the state government but were not funded, and if it had not been for the federal coalition government’s Investing in Our Schools Program they would not be funded today.

As I said, I have a very substantial list of government schools in my electorate that had basic projects funded through this particular program. Importantly, it was the school community who decided what the priorities were for the development of their school facilities. Little country schools and large government suburban schools—some in lower income areas—all shared in tens of thousands of dollars of funding for projects they chose through this coalition government program, and it was a sad day when the government rejected it. There has been constant criticism about the coalition’s so-called neglect of government schools, but in my electorate many more government schools received funding through Investing in Our Schools than did private schools. We may not have had a revolution, but the coalition delivered that urgently needed funding to schools and supported parents to invest in their children’s future by giving them more opportunities and choices in education. We gave real support to parents by giving them a say in how they invested in their children’s education. The coalition want to give the youth of Australia the best opportunity to fulfil their potential and to reach their aspirations, and we want to encourage them to be the best that they can be.

Before closing, I pay tribute to the many teachers, the school principals and the school communities—particularly the P&F organisations—throughout the electorate of Pearce. I try to get around and visit as many schools as possible and, for the most part, I see very dedicated people within these school communities working hard to ensure that the best education is delivered to the children in their care.

While any funding for education should be supported, and we certainly support this funding, the fact is that this particular program that we are debating today through the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 is just a token gesture. It is a way for the Rudd government to cover up the gap in the ‘computer for every student’ policy, which it did not really properly think through. It ignores the fees that families pay to schools and the contributions they have to make for their students’ education; it ignores the cost of uniforms; it ignores the extra tuition that many children need in core subjects and the additional classes they take to develop their ability; it ignores the realities of buying a computer, such as the real cost and the unlikelihood of buying a new computer every year; it does not cover all families and children; and it certainly does not cover early childhood education, which was one of the areas that the proposal under our government did cover. So it is a great pity that there is not greater flexibility in the provisions of this bill.

Sophie Mirabella (Indi, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare, Women and Youth) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008. In speaking on this bill, I need to point out that the government’s bill is significantly less comprehensive than the policy taken to the Australian people by the coalition at the last federal election. Labor have promised so much but, sadly, delivered very little. They promised a revolution, but there has been nothing revolutionary so far. The fact is that their education revolution measures have been paid for by getting rid of existing programs. One need only see the cull of the former government’s Investing in Our Schools Program, the abolition of the $700 reading tuition voucher and the removal of support for Australian technical colleges to see this. An education revolution is a fancy title, but not when it involves merely assigning a new name to existing education programs.

On this side of the House, we do not simply rely on our own arguments. We can look at the government side to see the dispirited manner in which at least one government MP views this so-called education revolution and its rhetoric. The member for Fowler spoke on the Schools Assistance Bill and pointed out that the government’s so-called revolution is a long way off and that it is hardly a revolution. This bill provides tax refunds for education expenses incurred by parents for the cost of their children’s education. It amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 through the introduction of a refundable tax offset for eligible education expenses. The refundable tax offset will apply to expenses incurred from 1 July 2008.

The coalition’s broader and more comprehensive policy explicitly included items such as government and non-government school fees, uniforms, textbooks, camps, excursions, laptops, broadband connections, computer software, preschool fees and charges and extracurricular activities such as music, sport and drama. We know that many families, including many families in my own electorate, are doing it tough at the moment, and we recognise that there are at times significant costs associated with education, particularly with some of the extracurricular activities and technological requirements that are part of the life of a student today, be they in primary or in secondary school. That is why the coalition’s education policy made it clear that the coalition would introduce a new refundable tax rebate of 40 per cent for education expenses, including school fees, for every student from preschool—kindergarten in some states—until the end of secondary school. The policy went on to state:

… enabling parents to choose the best education for their children often requires them to juggle not only their priorities but also the costs associated with educating their children.

On this side of the House we will support passage of this bill, but we recognise that the legislation could be significantly improved. A good start would be for the government to have a closer look at the coalition’s election policy. This is unfortunately wishful thinking, but if we are to be serious about lessening the burden of the costs associated with child raising and education then we should resolve that the base of coverage of the education expenses as part of the refundable tax offset should be as broad as possible. The coalition’s plan did this, but the current legislation is much narrower.

We are the party of choice. We support choice in education. We support parents’ ability to make the right choices for their children. In addition to this, parents should be given far greater freedom as to how they spend their education tax refund. They should have a wide range of items covered by its scope, not the rigid, prescriptive approach that is proposed by the government through this legislation. This is apparently only one plank of the government’s so-called education revolution. Thus far it has been underwhelming to say the very least. We expect more from the government that promised so much in this area but that at the moment is appearing to renege on its promises, be it with the botched handling of the computers in schools program, the cessation of Investing in Our Schools or the flight away from Australian technical colleges—the list could go on. On this side of the House we acknowledge that this bill could be better, but we support the concept of helping parents with the costs of education and the fact that this policy is in some way similar to that outlined by the coalition at the last election but leaves us wanting.

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008, which follows through on one of the government’s key election promises, improving our education system. In the 2007-08 budget, the Rudd government announced $4.4 billion to create an education tax refund. This commitment recognises that many families are battling with the high costs of living and seeks to lift some of the burden by way of a tax refund for education expenses. It also forms part of the government’s commitment to improving access to education and recognises the important role access to technology plays in ensuring that young people have equal education opportunities.

Education is central to the nation’s prosperity, and it is vital that we have a highly skilled and educated workforce heading into the future. It is absolutely vital that action be taken now to ensure our future prosperity, and the Rudd government is taking action. The Rudd government has already been working hard to implement its education plans. An important part of the government’s education plans was our election commitment to invest $2.5 billion over 10 years in trade training centres in schools. Round 2 of our Trade Training Centres in Schools Program is already underway, and these training centres will go a long way towards addressing the skill shortage in traditional trades that this nation faces.

Also, as part of our education plans, we announced during the election our National Secondary School Computer Fund. In my electorate we have already seen round 1 of this program provide funds for 545 new computers for local schools Damascus College, Bacchus Marsh Grammar and Ballarat Christian College—schools that met the criteria of being highly in need in terms of their computer to student ratio. Round 2 applications are currently being reviewed. This is an important investment for students in my electorate. The Rudd government is also investing $62.5 million over three years in the Local Schools Working Together program. I was pleased to discuss this program with a number of schools in my electorate, with the lead school, Sebastopol Secondary College, applying for funds for shared infrastructure. All of these programs are on top of our commitments to early childhood education, providing preschool education of 15 hours per week to every four-year-old.

I stand here today very proud to say that I am part of a government that is getting the job done, making good on election promises and taking steps to improve education for our future leaders at the same time as providing tax relief for families. Funding a child’s education is not cheap, and I recognise that many families are under financial strain. Those financial costs are particularly evident after Christmas and during the Christmas school holidays, when families need to start forking out for education costs for the start of a new school year. Money for textbooks, stationery and new software programs or, in some instances, new computers has to be found. Throughout the year, the ongoing costs of internet connection are another strain on the family budget. This bill goes a long way towards providing relief to hardworking families who are struggling to pay their household expenses. Rising petrol prices, mortgage repayments and grocery bills all add up and can leave families wondering how they will fund another essential family commitment, such as their children’s education.

It is particularly important in times like today, when we are in the midst of a global financial crisis, that we continue to focus and provide relief to families. We have seen the government dedicate $10.4 billion of the budget surplus through the Economic Security Strategy to assist those Australians who need it most. My office has been flooded with calls from pensioners and families who can now look forward to some much-needed relief before Christmas. The Economic Security Strategy, alongside this bill, demonstrates just how committed we as a government are to helping families deal with the cost of living.

The tax laws amendment bill introduces the education tax refund. Under this proposal, parents with children in primary and secondary school will be able to claim a tax refund rebate of 50 per cent of eligible education expenses, such as computers, stationery and textbooks. Parents with primary school aged children are entitled to a 50 per cent refund up to $750 per child, and parents with secondary school aged children are entitled to a 50 per cent refund up to $1,500 per child. This refund will provide parents with refunds of up to $375 per primary school student and $750 per secondary school student. The bill will provide relief to approximately 1.3 million families across Australia and around 2.7 million students attending school. The education tax refund is active now. Eligible parents can receive the tax rebate from 1 July 2009. It is important that parents, if they have not started to do so already, from now on save their receipts relating to the purchase or hire of eligible expenses so they can receive the maximum benefit of their next tax refund. I cannot reiterate enough the importance of retaining these receipts. Without them, parents will not be entitled to reap the benefits this bill, which allows for parents putting children through primary or secondary school education.

In addition to the education tax refund, additional amendments will be made so that Centrelink and the Australian Taxation Office can share data relating to education tax refund recipients. This will enable the tax office to administer and monitor the take-up rate of the refund amongst Australian families. All parents who receive family tax benefit part A will be eligible for the refund. Parents whose child or children receive payments or allowances such as youth allowance, the disability support pension and Abstudy living allowance, and who would otherwise be eligible for family tax benefit part A, are also eligible for the education tax refund. Those families who have shared care arrangements in place and are eligible for family tax benefit part A or who share receipt of family tax benefit part A will share the education tax refund, just as they share the family tax benefit part A. Those families in similar circumstances who receive other payments and are eligible will enter into a similar arrangement for sharing of the education tax refund.

The bill also benefits families with home schooled students. Provided that student is registered with the relevant state or territory authority, families with home schooled children can benefit from the refund, as can school children who are independent of their parents. Families with children who are transitioning from primary to secondary school in a single financial year will be able to claim the full 50 per cent tax offset—that is, the full $750 education tax refund available to secondary school students for that financial year. Families with students who commence school or complete school in a school year can claim half of the full 12-month amount of the education tax refund for that financial year for the six-month period in which the child attended school. That is a refund of $187.50 for half a year’s primary school education and $350 for half a year’s secondary school education. The bill is in no way limited to one child per family. Parents can receive the full benefits for each child, regardless of whether they are primary or secondary school aged. The bill really does cater for all kinds of Australian families.

Under the Rudd government’s plan, parents will be able to claim refunds for a variety of education expenses. Recognising the central role that information technology plays in education, students and parents will be able to claim the cost of laptops, home computers, home internet connections, printers, printing paper and education software. This is on top of learning materials such as school textbooks, stationery and even tools that students in trade may use at school. The refund not only covers purchase of these items but the lease, hire or hire-purchase of those items as well. The government understands that not every working Australian family can afford to purchase a laptop at the drop of a hat. By including lease, hire and hire-purchase options in the refund, these families have options available to them to provide education tools to their children, whilst still being able to receive maximum tax offsets as a result of this bill.

The bill is another incentive for parents to ensure that their children are equipped with all of the learning tools they need to complete their schooling to the best of their ability. Access to technology is vital in breaking down socioeconomic barriers. This measure, alongside the government’s computers in schools program, is aimed squarely at ensuring that all students, regardless of their background, have equal opportunities to access learning through technology. All the evidence shows that access to information technology can break down socioeconomic disadvantage and provide a significant advantage to children’s learning. It is no coincidence that the country’s more well-off schools have invested significantly in information technology and in information technology learning environments.

As I touched on earlier, the introduction of this bill will see parents benefit from the rebate from 1 July next year. Parents can make their first claims from 1 July 2009 for the 2008-09 financial year. I reiterate what I said earlier—that is, I urge all parents, both in my electorate and across the country, to make sure they retain every receipt relating to items that can be claimed under this refund. If parents are not doing so already, they really must start keeping receipts now so they can obtain maximum benefits from this education refund come tax time. I encourage parents eligible for tax benefit part A to store their receipts in a safe place; I know it is something I often neglect to do. Every time parents purchase a new school textbook or need to replenish their schoolchildren’s stationery supplies, if they purchase a computer or learning software or they pay their internet connection bills—all of these receipts should be stored away ready for tax time. For those parents and independent school students who do not pay tax and are not required to lodge a tax return, it is still essential that they too retain all eligible educational receipts. Their entitlements will still be refunded through the Australian tax office by completing a separate form at the end of the 2008-09 financial year.

In my electorate we have over 40 primary and secondary schools, servicing more than 24,000 students. I certainly hope that the parents of these 24,000 students are assisted through this bill. My community constantly tells me how difficult it can be to make ends meet in tough times such as those we are experiencing at the moment. Just paying the essential family expenses can be a challenge. Working families in my electorate deserve a tax break and the children in my area deserve a solid education. This bill meets both needs. It provides a cash rebate to families who are working extremely hard to provide the best possible foundation for their children’s education. It is a way to acknowledge the commitment of these families to their children’s education and to their futures. It helps to ease the financial burden and make it easier for parents to afford to invest in their children’s education through purchases of what can be expensive learning resources such as computers, education programs and textbooks.

Looking at a child’s schooling years from prep through to year 12, the refund has the potential to provide a very large cost saving for families. Parents who receive the full refund for one child during their primary school years—that is, prep to grade 6—will receive a maximum $2,625 refund from the government. That is $2,625 in assistance from the government to help cover the expenses associated with putting one child through primary school education. The total maximum education tax refund parents can receive under this bill for one child during their secondary school education is $4,500. Overall, this government is committing over $7,125 to help fund a child’s education through primary and secondary school with the education refund. Just imagine what a difference that extra money will make to the average family. There will be more than $7,000 put back in their pockets over the 13 years of a child’s education. And, as we know, most families are not just sole-child families. If a family has more than one child and meets the eligibility requirements of this bill, their refund can move into the tens of thousands of dollars—to over $14,000 for families placing two children through their entire schooling education and to over $21,000 for families with three children—freeing families to dedicate that funding to other much needed areas of the family budget.

This is a fundamentally important bill for our families and for the children in this country. It is another way that the government is investing now in our future and it is another demonstration of our wholehearted commitment to the education plans that we have in place and that we have promised across the country. The bill is another demonstration from the government of our commitment to working families, to assist with education costs and to help, through them, to shape our nation’s future. Putting children through school is an expensive exercise, and the refund will go a long way to helping parents provide appropriate resources to fund their children’s education by helping to fund the learning resources they require in the classroom, such as textbooks and stationery, as well as helping to fund the learning resources they need at home to complete their work effectively, such as computers and the internet.

The government has allocated $4.4 billion to the refund over the next four years. It is a significant investment in this country’s future. It will help us as a nation to grow and prosper and will help ease the financial pressures placed on our families. These rebates provide a significant cost saving to families. The government believes that better education is pivotal to our society and providing better access to that education is pivotal to our children’s future. The bill is helping to ensure that our leaders of tomorrow are harnessed through their education and afforded every academic opportunity, regardless of their background, in order for them to do so. I commend the bill to the House.

Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008, the thrust of which I support. This is a bill which comes out of a promise made during the last year’s election campaign and what was a battle of tit-for-tat on several major policy areas. It amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 by introducing a 50 per cent refundable tax offset for eligible education expenses, the education tax refund, up to a maximum of $750 for children undertaking primary studies and $1,500 for children undertaking secondary studies. As I understand it, it is for families who get family tax benefit A.

The bill limits eligible education expenses to laptops, home computers and associated costs, computer related equipment such as printers and disability aids, home internet connections, computer software, school textbooks and other paper based school learning material and tools of trade as prescribed by the course. It is a promise which does go a long way to helping those Australians who want to give their children the best chance at the start of their lives.

Of course, in our country we are very fortunate to have a very strong education system. It is something our country should be very proud of. It gives people an opportunity to do better, to grow, and to make the dream of their parents for them to live a better quality life than theirs come true. It is something that I think both sides of this House support. I listened earlier to the member for Blair, who talked about the importance of education, and I support his comments absolutely.

But I think we need to look at the history of how this bill has come into being, and to do that we need to go back to 1996. We hear a lot from the other side about what we allegedly did or did not do for education when this side of the House was in government. We must understand that this $4.4 billion over four years could not have been delivered in 1996 because on coming to government in 1996 we found that there was $96 billion of debt. There was a $10 billion budget deficit. The hard work that was done between 1996 and 2007 has allowed a promise like this to be made, which is a good thing for our country. It is a good thing for Australian families that the government can assist with education expenses, and it is something I support. But it is based on the legacy of the hard economic decisions that were made in 1996 and the years that followed. If those hard decisions had not been made, this bill could not have been implemented. That is just a simple fact. Balanced budgets with surpluses and $60 billion in savings in the Future Fund is a legacy which has allowed these types of investments to be made. So it is really to the credit of the former government, the former Prime Minister and the former Treasurer, that we are in the position that we can have a bill such as this today.

This bill came out of the last election campaign, as I mentioned earlier. It was a version of a policy that was announced by the coalition. Unfortunately it is an inferior version of a policy that was announced by the coalition. Our policy was universal; it was not limited. Our policy also included—and this is a very important point—government and non-government school fees, preschool fees and expenses. Preschool is often forgotten in the education debate. We focus much in this place on university education, and the Labor Party focuses very much on school retention rates because it suits their state premiers to have that debate. But we do not focus on the building blocks of education, those early years. I have a very strong view that we need to do more as a federal parliament in this space. It is an area that has been neglected by state governments for years. It is an area which has suffered under the maladministration which is occurring in many of our states today. It is an area where increasingly the federal government will have to step up to the plate.

Our policy also included important items such as school uniforms, textbooks, stationery, calculators, and camps and excursions—camps like the school from my electorate which came to visit Parliament House today to enjoy and understand what we do here, a great opportunity for young people to understand how our democracy works. Camps and excursions can teach much more than can be learned in the classroom. Being in this place, being in the Senate and doing a tour of this place is much better than reading about it in a classroom or being told about it by a teacher or, indeed, a politician. Being in this place can teach so much more. So our policy included camps and excursions. It also included laptops, broadband and software, and extracurricular school activities such as sport, music, dance and drama.

I am on the Standing Committee on Health and Ageing in this place and we are looking at obesity at the present time. One of the things that has struck me in this committee inquiry is the lack of opportunity for school kids now—and primary school kids in particular—to do physical education, to get outside the classroom and to have a run around like we enjoyed when we were kids. There are many reasons for that. I think that largely there have been mistakes of policy in the past, that a focus has been taken off these extracurricular activities encouraging kids to get outside, to get away from the TV and, dare I say, the internet and to actually undertake a game of footy or netball or some other sort of physical activity and run around each day so they can get enjoyment out of being outside. Equally, it is the case with other important things like dance, music and drama.

Our policy had a slightly smaller amount of $800 annually for each student but it covered a broader field. It was not restricted to those on family tax benefit A. Where we are critical of Labor’s policy in this respect or in this bill is that it only covers a small cost of a computer. It does nothing to address the basics of a good education to support families with the real day-to-day costs of schooling, such as school fees and those camps and excursions that too many kids have to miss out on because they cannot afford to pay for them. I think that school fees is the biggest area of mistake in this bill. School fees are so important not just in the non-government sector but also in the government sector. I spoke to a couple of principals of public schools, not of private schools, in my electorate last week. I will not name them for fear of reprisal from the state education minister.

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Finance Minister on Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Grow up!

Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry, Dr Emerson, the schools are extraordinarily concerned about the treatment they are getting from the state education departments.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I would just like to remind the honourable member that he ought to refer to the minister by his title and not by his name.

Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Quite correct, Mr Deputy Speaker. School fees are an important part of the funds. For instance, one of the schools, a public school, I spoke to has had to write off $30,000 of school fee debt because it has got no capacity to get the parents to pay. In the past public schools were able to keep any surplus funds they had and earn the interest off those surplus funds. The state Treasurer has decided in South Australia to take all those funds back into recurrent funding. That is a disgrace. That is penny-pinching at its worst and it is mean. It does not do our education system any good at all. So I think that a mistake in this bill is in the fact that it leaves out school fees. That extra $30,000 in this small school in my electorate could do so much more. It could do so much for these young kids to give them a chance and a better education. It could give them so much more one-on-one learning time with their teachers and more access to an opportunity in life, and that is of course what Australia stands for. The great ideal of Australia is that you get as much opportunity as presents.

So I think that this is a good bill because it does do something about helping families, and it does so because the federal government is in the position to be able to do so as it has inherited a very strong budget position. It has inherited a surplus. It has inherited massive savings in the Future Fund. This is a situation we did not have 12 years ago. This bill could never have been implemented 12 years ago. We should never forget the legacy that has come about for this bill. But it has some flaws, and they are flaws that I urge the other side to consider, including school fees. They are an important aspect. They will give an extra funding boost for those schools, particularly public schools, that need that extra assistance.

The other thing I will say about those struggling state schools is that one of the programs in the Howard government which helped those state schools enormously was the Investing in Our Schools Program. So many schools have made this point to me: those small capital grants help because they build the next bit of infrastructure—the new classroom, the installation of the air conditioning. Last year a small school in my electorate received $128 in capital funding from the state government. That is probably three chairs or a desk; it is not good enough. The Investing in Our Schools Program gave those small schools the opportunity to apply for capital grants which allowed them to build new buildings or put in air-conditioning or heating systems; they allowed the school to progress. One of the schools I visited last week would not show me the back of their school because it is all made up of temporary buildings. The principal described the science lab as something ‘out of the 1960s’. That is not helping our country become smarter or to do better.

I genuinely think we need to look at the funding structure of both private and public schools in our country. We have a significant problem at the state level with the amount of money that is being put into public schools. Those on the other side will view that as a partisan comment—it is not designed to be. The federal government may have to do more to step up to this plate and the Investing in Our Schools Program was an example of that. Funding has just not been handed over to these small schools—or to larger public schools, for that matter. They are getting their recurrent funding—arguably not enough—to do what they need to do but they are not getting the one-offs to rebuild buildings, to install the new infrastructure, to make the investment for the future so the learning facilities are high class. That is where we have a problem in our country with education.

As I said earlier, I also think that we need to do more for preschools and early childhood education. I declare a conflict in this matter: I have two young children under three who are coming into this age group. The amount our two-year-old grows and learns every day is something to behold. Clearly, that is when the best education can occur. Clearly, that is when kids pick up the most and where the foundation of their educational life begins. We focus very much on the higher end, the university sector, in this place. We heard an answer to a question today about a university amenities fee and so forth, but where we err is that as a country we do not focus enough on early childhood education. I am sure the other side will jump up and say: ‘You didn’t do anything in 12 years. The Howard government just ignored education. We have dropped down in all the statistics.’ I can rebut and say, ‘Well, the state governments have not done enough,’ but that is not getting the problem fixed. We genuinely need to look at this area because this will help our country grow. This will help our country get smarter and our kids to do better.

Not every child going through school will end up in university—indeed we do not want that. But we need to identify those kids early and give them a better chance, and we can only do that by increasing the funding base. We can only do that by investing in the skills of those people who care for our children in those early years of life. We know by legend that the best time to teach a child a second language is in their early years. It makes complete sense that they learn the most in those early years.

I urge the federal government to consider including in this bill preschool fees as well as government and non-government school fees. I think it would make a huge difference, particularly to those parents on the edge, particularly those parents who live in socioeconomic areas where they just cannot afford to pay the public school fees. That of course has a flow-on effect to the public schools because they do not have that revenue stream. That is an important aspect. Sure, internet and broadband are very important, and having computers is very important, but we can do more with this money. We can give parents that choice. It should not just be focused on one small area of education.

Education is not all about laptops and broadband connections. I am sure that those on the other side will agree with that, and I do not think for a moment that they are suggesting it is. A broad education is about so much more. It is about learning our history, which we should do in this country—and tomorrow is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on our history. It is about coming to Canberra and seeing our parliament at work. It is about respecting our institutions and so forth. And these are things that you cannot do just by having a laptop computer or a broadband connection at home. These are things that families struggle to pay for these days. In the coming six months, 12 months or two years as our economy slows and we have fewer jobs, higher unemployment and more people in small business who are struggling—as I am sure the Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors and the Service Economy understands—and as the financial crisis has its effect on the real economy, we should do more for those families to help them give their children the best opportunity in education that we can.

We should be very proud of our country and the opportunities that young people get but we can always do more. We should do more. I said in my maiden speech that I thought the area of education would be a challenging one going forward into the future. Those countries that we have always had an advantage over, those countries that are developing, have learnt from us. One of the great books of all time, I think, is Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat. He talks in there about the power of education and how the developing countries, particularly India and China, have learnt so much about our education systems in the past and have adapted to our ways and are now arguably ahead of us. So one of our great challenges as a nation is to get our education system right. We need to do that through looking at the base or the building block, which is early childhood, and fund that properly. We need to have a properly funded primary education system as well. Of course, we need to have good and strong learning institutions at the tertiary level.

Where I think government has failed over the last 10 or 20 years—and I include both sides of politics in this—is that not enough focus has been put on those in the preschool area. We need to do more in that area for the building blocks of our education system. This bill would be a good way to start that. This bill would be a good opportunity for those parents who choose to use it to send their kids to the preschool that might just be out of reach at the moment—the preschool that will give them that extra chance, that extra step. I do urge the government to consider those comments.

I largely support the aims of this bill, with those criticisms that I have made. I also urge the government to rethink the Investing in Our Schools Program, simply because the capital investments that particularly those small primary schools get make a real and genuine difference to the learning outcomes of those young Australians that we seek to help and to give an opportunity in life.

Chris Trevor (Flynn, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 and it is with a great sense of pride that I do so. The bill is designed to amend the existing Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 by introducing a refundable tax offset for eligible parents or carers who are faced with the cost of providing educational material for a child or children in their care. This bill introduces for the first time the notion of a tax offset for legitimate education expenses to reduce the tax liability of the taxpayer. I personally feel that this bill is at the very heart of the government’s agenda of investing in education and making life easier for working Australians.

The bill aims to introduce a 50 per cent education tax refund set at two distinct limits: one for pupils enrolled in primary school studies and the other for students enrolled in recognised secondary school studies. The primary school limit will see eligible parents or guardians able to claim a 50 per cent refundable tax offset each year, up to an amount of $750 per year per child for eligible education expenses. This would see an amount of up to $375 per year per child refunded back to parents or caregivers. The secondary school limit will be set at $1,500 and will also be a 50 per cent refundable tax offset, which would see up to $750 per year per child refunded back to Australian parents or guardians. The method behind the two distinctly different refund amounts is in recognition of the different cost burden between a primary-school-age child and a secondary-school-age child, with the latter being, in general terms, more costly. As a member with five children, all of varying ages—now with some off my hands, thankfully—I can certainly agree that, as a child gets older, their education and the resources they need to complete their education do become more expensive. For those whose children also play sport, that additional burden or cost is often prohibitive, though it should never be.

Perhaps my government could look at this aspect of cost to parents—namely, the rising cost of playing sport—from a tax deductibility point of view down the track. In addition, I take the point of the member for Mayo, Mr Briggs, in relation to the investing in our—

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am loath to interrupt the honourable member, but he ought to refer to the honourable member by his electorate, not by his name. I did draw the attention of the honourable member for Mayo to the same standing order.

Chris Trevor (Flynn, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In addition, I take the point that the member for Mayo raised in relation to the Investing in Our Schools Program and I agree with him on a bipartisan approach. I have travelled extensively throughout my electorate over the last couple of months and have seen some wonderful projects that have been delivered under the Investing in Our Schools Program. Unfortunately, the former Prime Minister of Australia Mr John Howard was not going to continue the program. From what I have seen in my electorate, it was indeed a good program.

What constitutes an eligible family for the purposes of this bill? The bill states that to be eligible for the education tax refund a family must be receiving or eligible to receive the family tax benefit part A. This is the defining criteria as to whether or not a family is eligible to claim for the education tax refund. However, the bill does go into detail to further explain the eligibility requirements for families, and does state that families would also be eligible for the education tax refund if they would otherwise have been eligible for the family tax benefit part A but their child is in receipt of another prescribed payment or allowance from Centrelink, such as youth allowance, disability support pension or Abstudy, and it is this payment that has made them ineligible for family tax benefit part A. Students who are also classed as independent and who receive a payment or allowance, such as youth allowance, will also be eligible for the educational tax refund.

In all these cases, in order to claim the education tax refund the claimant must have their child or children enrolled or registered in a relevant educational institution, whether it is a primary school, high school or, in the case of mature age students, enrolled in a similar course provided by such institutions as TAFE. In total it is estimated that the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 will benefit approximately 1.3 million families, with 2.7 million students fitting the eligibility criteria.

The bill in my opinion has also been well engineered when it comes to children in shared care arrangements with their parents. The education tax refund will be able to be shared between parents in a similar method to the existing arrangements for sharing of the family tax benefit part A.

The school year and the tax year do not perfectly coincide. Many children will be in a transition from primary school to high school during any one tax year. This could no doubt lead to some confusion amongst parents with different offset amounts between the two levels of schooling. The bill in its current form clears up this confusion, thankfully, by ensuring that the education tax refund amount for a secondary school student, or the highest of the two limits, is applicable should a child transition from primary school to high school during the tax year. The bill also allows for students who may choose to leave or enter school during a school year, with half the amount of the education tax refund able to be claimed to represent the half of the financial year that they attended school.

I am particularly pleased to see that the bill makes clear provision for amounts over the tax offsets maximum limit of $375 for primary students and $750 for secondary students. Expenses that parents incur above these amounts can be carried forward into the subsequent tax year. This will be particularly beneficial for families purchasing large-scale items such as a laptop or a computer that will exceed the yearly threshold. It is indeed comforting to know that they will be able to access the unused amount of the educational expenses in the following tax year and fully benefit from the purpose of this bill.

I am also pleased that the bill has made provision for those who are not required by law to complete an income tax return. In this instance the amount of the tax offset that would have applied to an individual’s taxable income will be paid directly to the individual. These two measures illustrate the government’s thoughtful approach to the bill and thoughtful delivery of this important election commitment.

I would like to take this opportunity to state that parents of students who are home schooled will also be eligible for the educational tax refund. This is fantastic news for them. In my electorate of Flynn, in outback Queensland, some students have no option but to be home schooled due to the vast distances between communities and educational facilities. I am pleased and glad that today this bill recognises them and treats them as no different than any other student attending any other school. In fact, earlier this year in my electorate, the Longreach School of Distance Education was awarded Highly Commended in the Excellence in Family-School Partnerships award at the 2008 National Awards for Quality Schooling. I am proud that these communities have not been forgotten in this bill or by my government.

Having spoken on the eligibility for families under this bill, I would also like to comment on the eligibility of educational expenses to be claimed under the educational tax refund. I am pleased that the list of eligible expenses is a comprehensive list of items that supports a child’s education. I am also pleased that this bill covers not only the purchase of items but also the lease, hire or hire purchase of these items, to better suit individual households and their requirements or preferences. Although it would be difficult to outline here today the many types of school related expenses that could be claimed under this bill I would like to note for the record that under the scheme some of the expenses able to be claimed include but are not limited to: laptops and computers, as well as related equipment including printers; computer software, such as word processing and spreadsheets, as well as antivirus software; school textbooks and stationery; and tools of trade. I am pleased to see not only that the initial cost of a computer is an eligible expense but also that the ongoing cost for home internet access is classed as a legitimate educational expense in this bill. I feel that it is worthy of special mention that the cost for disability aids or equipment to assist children with disabilities to use a computer will also be covered by this bill under the educational tax refund.

No matter which way we look at it, educating a child can be an expensive exercise for a family. Costs seem to add up, with books, stationery and other equipment endlessly on the family shopping list. It has become even more expensive today with high-tech and expensive computer equipment now also a requirement for a basic education. This government will not allow Australian families to be burdened by educational expenses and will not allow working families to face these costs alone.

Although education can be a costly exercise it is ultimately a worthwhile and rewarding one. It is, as I have often said and continue to say, one of the greatest gifts a parent can give to their child. I quote from a longstanding academic on economics and management, Mr Michael Porter. Mr Porter states in his Competitive Advantage of Nations book:

There is little doubt that education and training are decisive in National Comparative Advantage, that is, improving the general education system is an essential priority of government and a matter of economic and not just social policy.

This sentiment is echoed throughout economic literature, with study after study also finding the high rate of return from educational investment. One such study undertaken in 2005 by the Australian National University outlined that in Australia our rate of return for educational investment is around 10 per cent. A 10 per cent return on your investment is a great return, particularly when the investment is in the minds of our young Australians. The total cost of the education tax refund is estimated at $4.4 billion over the next four years. This is a substantial investment in education by my government and a substantial relief for working families who are battling with their children’s educational expenses.

I understand just how tough it is for low-income earners in Australia to provide for the future of their children. To illustrate just how tough it is for some low-income households, the Brotherhood of St Laurence undertook an education cost survey in 2007. The results of this survey found that an alarming 72 per cent of respondents could not afford items that would improve the education experience of their child, 66 per cent did not have access to a home computer with internet access and 60 per cent had difficulty paying for books. This is certainly an alarming set of statistics and one that urgently needed to be corrected. The educational tax refund will help these low-income Australians and ease the burden that they face in simply providing for their children’s education.

As I have stated before, the cost of a child’s education is now more intrusive with the addition of expensive computer equipment which is now vital to a child’s success at school. Of course, families must also cater in the weekly budget for the cost of an internet connection to help with the many assignments and information-gathering tasks that schooling requires. Recent ABS data tells us that around three-quarters of Australian households have a computer at home. Unfortunately, if we look closer into this statistic we see that as many as 90 per cent of high-income earners in Australia have a computer at home but that this figure plummets to under 50 per cent of low-income households. This has been termed the ‘digital divide’—a divide between those who have access to a computer and the internet at home and those who do not. It saddens me that this divide may see some children in low-income households disadvantaged by not having access to a computer or the internet at home. The educational tax refund, thankfully, will help arrest this troubling figure. It will help break down the digital divide by supporting low- and middle-income households in receipt of family tax benefit part A with assistance to provide the educational equipment needed for their children to perform at school.

Already my government has taken the first steps in our commitment to delivering an education revolution. In my electorate of Flynn, 518 new computers are to be installed in high schools as a result of round 1 of the National Secondary School Computer Fund. I look forward to the second round of funding under this scheme to be announced by the end of the year. Of course, the digital education revolution does not stop with the mere purchase of new computer equipment but will continue with the government’s $100 million commitment over three years to support the provision of high-speed broadband connections to Australian primary and secondary schools as part of the Fibre Connections to Schools initiative. My government, the Rudd Labor government, is a government that believes that reliable access to the internet is not a luxury but a prerequisite for a good education and is determined to see Australian children receiving the very best in technologies by world standards.

It is hoped that this bill will be able to apply from 1 July 2008. I would like to remind my constituents in Flynn that, if they are eligible for the education tax refund, they should now be keeping their receipts as evidence of educational expenses that they have incurred and to take advantage of this new tax offset when preparing their tax affairs for the 2008-09 financial year.

With all the benefits that an education can bring to an individual, a family, a community and the nation as a whole, and with the Rudd government’s clear commitment to an education revolution, I commend the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 to the House and congratulate the Rudd Labor government for its outstanding leadership on this issue.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak in support of the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008. As other speakers have quite rightly said, this bill introduces a 50 per cent education tax refund aimed at assisting families with children undertaking primary or secondary school studies to meet the costs of school education through assistance with certain education expenses. This side of the House understands that one of the most important investments we can make in a child is to ensure the child is provided with a good education. It is something that I alluded to in the first speech I made in this place—the importance of education in making a difference not only to a child but to changing society generally.

The education providers understand that principle, the business sector understands that, the Rudd government understands that, parents understand that and other governments around the world understand that. The only ones who do not seem to understand that education underpins opportunity are members opposite, because under their watch education standards in Australia slipped substantially when compared with other OECD countries. Study after study has confirmed that. I just want to quote from one of the most recent studies, entitled How young people are faring, which was only released a month or two ago, I believe, and was put together by Jack Dusseldorp of the Dusseldorp Skills Forum. He said:

• Australia is below many other OECD countries in terms of levels of participation in education, suggesting there is room for improvement.

I quote that study because it is all about young people and is the most recent that I have been able to get my hands on. Within that report that was prepared by Jack Dusseldorp there are a series of graphs, which others may wish to refer to, which simply confirm our position in the international sense when it comes to education.

Furthermore, one has only to look at the run-down condition of public schools throughout Australia to see just how little importance members opposite placed on education when they were in office. They offloaded their responsibility onto the private schools sector and onto the state governments. It was typical of the Howard government to starve the states of funds and then blame the states for not delivering the services or the facilities that communities needed. We saw it in the critical areas of education, health services and housing. In listening to the member for Mayo earlier on today it was interesting that we heard the same rhetoric from him in his contribution to this matter. Again, he blamed the states for any problems when it came to our education services in this country. The Howard government’s idea of funding schools, I might add, was to provide them with flagpoles. In contrast, the Rudd government fully understands that education underpins a child’s future prospects in life and also underpins the nation’s future prosperity.

Governments also have a social responsibility to bridge the gap between those in low socioeconomic sectors of society and the rest of society. Education is certainly the key to doing that. Again, if I can refer to the report How young people are faring, I will quote from some of the comments made in that report about people in low socioeconomic areas. It says:

… about one third of young adults who have completed year 12 were in full-time education. This was over five times the rate for those who were early school leavers.

That is the first critical point: if you were an early school leaver, you will likely not go on to full-time education.

While almost 46 per cent of those from high SES backgrounds engage in full-time education, less than one-fifth from low SES origins do.

Again it highlights the contrast. Furthermore, the report goes on to say:

Year 12 attainment among 19 year-olds varies substantially by social background. Young people from low SES backgrounds attain Year 12 or its equivalent at a rate 26.1 percentage points lower than that of those from high SES origins.

At age 24, well over one-third of those from low SES backgrounds have not completed Year 12 or equivalent, compared to about one in seven of those from high SES backgrounds.

Achievement levels in school also affect attainment, and since school achievement is highly correlated with social background, policies developed to target improvements in Year 12 completion will need to address the issue of social disadvantage.

Governments have a responsibility to bridge that gap between those that are in low socioeconomic sectors and the rest of our society, and the Rudd government is doing that. That is why at the last election the Rudd government made education a priority in the policy announcements that were made. That is why the Rudd government committed to a number of important education policy initiatives for all of Australia.

This bill provides for a 50 per cent tax refund for certain primary and secondary school expenses and is a key plank in the Rudd government’s education policy reform agenda. Importantly, this bill guarantees that the children are the direct beneficiaries of the tax refund because the refund is only provided after the money has been spent on the child’s education needs. Under this $4.4 million proposal, as from 1 July 2008 about 1.3 million Australian families will be able to claim up to $375 for each primary school child’s eligible school expenses and up to $750 for each secondary school child’s eligible school expenses. These rebates will be very welcome by families around Australia, and I have no doubt that it will now make it possible for many parents to buy education resources for their children which they may have wanted to provide but did not because they could not afford the outlay. It also means that children will be more likely to have better education resources and that can only lead to better education outcomes.

For students today, IT equipment has become essential to their learning and essential to the preparation of their schoolwork. It was interesting to hear the member for Flynn quote some statistics on that. For families that come from low socioeconomic areas, only 50 per cent of households have a computer or access to a computer; in the high socioeconomic areas, the figures for computer ownership are much higher. The Rudd government recognises that it is important to have IT equipment for children and has committed $1.2 billion over five years to provide schools with computers. But we all know that students do much of their learning and much of their schoolwork from home after hours as part of their homework, so it is just as important that parents can provide children with home computers. This bill will help parents do that.

Almost without exception, the parents I speak to want the best education possible for their children. They understand just how important a good education is for their children’s future. That is why so many parents that I know take on additional jobs and sacrifice their own time to ensure their children are given a good education and are able to participate in other school activities. No parent wants to see their children miss out on what their school has to offer and no parent wants to see their children do poorly because they do not have the necessary resources.

I said earlier that education is the most effective way of bridging the gap between the socially disadvantaged and the rest of society and of breaking the cycle of poverty. One of the unfortunate outcomes of social inequality for all of us is that often some of our brightest and most talented children do not complete secondary education or embark on any kind of further education. Their natural ability is left untapped. Sadly, in those cases, it is not only the child but also the rest of society that misses out, because that child’s intellectual talents could have been used for the benefit of others if the child had been given the educational opportunity needed. With respect to those children, I commend the schools and the teachers who, when they recognise a gifted child, do all they can to assist the child in furthering their education.

I said earlier that the rundown state of our public schools is largely the result of neglect by the last coalition government. Our schools, TAFEs and universities were underfunded and underresourced by the previous federal government. It is my view that federal governments do have a national interest and a shared responsibility in all levels of education. The Rudd government understands that and the Australian people understand that. That is why they elected the Rudd government last November, knowing full well that education was going to be one of the areas of expenditure and key policy areas of this government. The Rudd government went to the election last year talking about an education revolution, highlighting the importance of education, highlighting how Australia’s education standards had slipped compared with the rest of the world and highlighting how important education is to the future prosperity of children and to the nation. Voters voted in that election knowing full well the importance that the Rudd government would place on education if it was elected. And, as we saw, voters did elect a Rudd Labor government in that election.

Sadly, one of the outcomes of the coalition government’s neglect of education is that parents are continually having to contribute funding for the most basic of school resources in both public and private schools. So when we talk about parents having to pay for their children’s education it does not apply solely to those who send their children to private schools; today it applies as much to parents who send their children to public schools. School fundraising has become essential for schools, and inevitably that fundraising primarily comes from parents and adds to education costs.

Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That’s why you are being real smart and cutting out the Investing in Our Schools Program!

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member opposite refers to the Investing in Our Schools Program. If he is patient I intend to come to that. I said earlier that the run-down state of many of our public schools is the result of years of neglect, particularly during the Howard government’s years in office. Sadly, one of the outcomes of that neglect, as I pointed out a moment ago, is that parents continually have to contribute funding for the most basic of school resources. I will give a couple of examples of where I have seen parents do exactly that in public schools.

I will come back to talking about some schools in Makin in just a moment. I first want to refer to something that was published in the Australian by reporter Matthew Knott on 13 October 2008, when he wrote about the issue of parents having to pay to send their children to school. The article was headlined, ‘Cash-poor schools “running raffles to pay for textbooks”’. The headline exposes the shocking truth of how our schools have been neglected. It is a sad indictment of a country like Australia, which is generally affluent.

I said earlier that I wanted to allude to some of the schools that I have visited recently in my area. I visit schools in the electorate of Makin whenever I can. I speak to teachers and parents and I see the needs of individual families and schools. Only last Friday—7 November—I attended the Modbury West Primary School, which is in the Makin electorate, for the official opening of the school’s new landscaped frontage, which the students have appropriately named the Garden of Dreams. The entire funding for the project—this is a public school—which amounted to about $15,000, came from the school community, and the work was then carried out by volunteers. The net result was a beautifully landscaped garden which lifts the appearance of the school and lifts the pride of the students. If the work had been outsourced it would have cost around $50,000, but thanks to the school community they were able to do it for around $15,000. What the school community have achieved in the garden is a credit to the whole of the Modbury West Primary School community.

It is also typical of what I see at so many other schools. In the same week I also attended Para Vista Primary School, Modbury Primary School and The Heights School—a reception-to-year-12 school—when these schools also officially opened improvements to their schools. Like Modbury West Primary School, Para Vista Primary School, Modbury Primary School and The Heights School have a committed staff team and a supportive school community. Each of these school communities contributed thousands of dollars of funds that they had raised towards their own school projects. Certainly in those cases the projects were assisted by funding from the federal government and other sources, but the school communities had to raise a substantial amount of the funds themselves in order to ensure that those projects became a reality. Again, the fundraising primarily came from the parents of the schoolchildren.

This highlights the costs that are being faced by parents when they send their children to school. The Rudd government understands that, and that is why this measure has been put in place. That is why the Rudd government announced, in December, a $1,000 payment for each child of parents who come under family tax benefit A. That is why the Rudd government introduced tax cuts in July and why the Rudd government has committed to a range of education expenditure measures which will ultimately give children their best chance in life.

I want to come back to a couple of comments that have been made by members opposite. I will address the question of Investing in Our Schools, which most of them seem to want to allude to. It is interesting that members opposite support that program—and rightly so, because it was money that was used to assist schools—but why did the Howard government ever have to establish that program? It was because, after 12 years of being in government, the schools had become run-down to such a state that they needed every penny that they could get in order to get improvements just to provide basic education services. If the federal government had provided the states and the schools with the appropriate level of funding the schools would never have got to that state in the first place. When I walk through those schools and I see some of the conditions that they are in, I believe that it is a sad indictment of the previous government that they were allowed to deteriorate to that level. The program was simply a bandaid measure to pretend that the previous government cared about schools when the reality is that they could have done much, much more.

It is interesting that those opposite come into this place and talk about how this government is now doing all of this because it is possible as a result of the good economic management of the previous government. If the previous government was managing the economy so well why didn’t it invest in education and end up with a much stronger economy than we have? And why didn’t the previous government, when they had a surplus in their budget, commit to these projects? Why didn’t the previous government, when they had the funds, go into an election and commit to any of the measures that the Labor Party did?

The previous government had the same opportunities, but they were not prepared to give education the priority it deserved and they were not prepared to give education the priority that the Rudd government does.

Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Baldwin interjecting

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! There is too much audible interjection across the chamber.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Now they are trying to simply take credit for the policies which are being well received by the community out there. These policies were put together by the Rudd Labor government and will ultimately ensure that every child in this country will have a fair opportunity of getting a good education. A good education provides not only opportunity for the child as an individual but opportunity and prosperity for our nation as a whole.

This is just one of many measures that the Rudd government has announced, as I said earlier, but it is an important measure because it does put money directly back into the pockets of the mums and dads who are doing the best they can to ensure that their children get a good education. I commend the bill of the House, I congratulate the minister for introducing it and I look forward to working with the Rudd Labor government on rolling out a number of other education initiatives and policies that will complete the package of delivering a good education system in Australia.

Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 will help to reduce significantly the cost of education for working families. It will also help to encourage investment by parents in school equipment for their children’s education. That, of course, means an investment in their future. Improving the education system is essential to improving the economic and social wellbeing of our country.

Before the last election Labor committed to implementing an education revolution, due to the poor performance of the previous government in this area and the long-term benefits of improving educational outcomes. Under the previous government, Australia’s investment in education was equal to 5.8 per cent of GDP. This placed us behind 17 other OECD economies in our level of investment in this area. Even worse, investment in early childhood education was just 0.1 per cent of GDP compared to an OECD average of 0.5 per cent. What a dismal performance by the previous government in that area! We were also falling behind our competitors, evidenced by the World Economic Forum’s findings that our science and maths education ranked only 29th in the world, behind countries like Singapore, France, India, the Czech Republic and Tunisia.

These results, bad enough on their own, are worse when you consider the economic and social benefits that education can have. Research has demonstrated that improvements in education have a direct impact on productivity and economic growth levels—and, of course, that is perfectly self-evident. But, as evidence, it has been estimated by Access Economics that increasing the workforce’s level of education by only 0.15 years would boost workforce-wide productivity by 0.62 per cent. It would also boost workforce participation by 0.48 per cent and economic growth by 1.1 per cent by 2040. Research by ANU economist Steve Dowrick has also found that an additional year’s schooling could boost productivity and economic growth by 0.3 per cent.

OECD research on education in 2006 demonstrated that, if the average level of education of the working-age population was increased by one year, the economy would be three to six per cent larger and the growth rate of the economy would be up to one per cent higher. As further evidence, a 2004 international study into literacy scores, human capital and growth across 14 OECD countries found that countries able to attain literacy scores one per cent higher than the international average will achieve living standards measured by GDP per capita that are 1.5 per cent higher than other countries. That is graphic evidence from a number of research studies of the importance of education in improving economic activity, productivity and therefore social outcomes.

The business community has also long recognised the value of education to the performance of the economy. In a report in 2006, the Business Council of Australia stated:

People with higher levels of educational attainment and skills have higher participation rates and tend to stay in the workforce for longer. Raising the average level of education attainment (and ongoing skill development) can also deliver higher levels of productivity.

Education also helps to create other social benefits. US academic Robert Putnam has conducted research into this area in particular and has shown that societies with a strong commitment to education can also enjoy higher levels of civic participation in community groups, greater social cohesion and integration, lower levels of crime and disadvantage, and a more equitable and trusting society. So there is ample evidence of the importance of education in economic and social outcomes and, in particular, in the pursuit of social justice. That is why the Rudd government has made education a central element of its program in government. It realises the economic and social importance of education and that is why the government is committed to a revolution in education.

In the May budget the government established the Education Investment Fund, which absorbed the earlier Higher Education Endowment Fund. The fund is budgeted to receive an initial allocation of around $11 billion to be spent on higher education and vocational education and training needs. This is an extremely important proposed investment, for the reasons I have described. In addition to this, the budget also provided $5.9 billion over five years for areas covering early childhood education, schools, higher education, skills and workforce development.

In the area of early childhood education, which is one of the areas I identified earlier as being critical to economic and social development, the budget contained the following initiatives: $534 million over five years to provide universal access to preschool, 15 hours per week for 40 weeks per year, for all four-year-olds by 2013; and $337 million to further improve quality of, and access to, early childhood education and care, particularly for disadvantaged children. These are Labor initiatives consistent with Labor values for social equity.

For schools, the budget provided $1.2 billion over five years for the digital education revolution to deliver computers and communications technologies to all year 9 to 12 students. To digress for a moment, in my own electorate, of Charlton this initiative is extremely important. Just last week I visited St Paul’s High School, a Catholic school in the electorate where about 217 computers are well in the process of being delivered. It has driven improved internet access and a wireless broadband service in the school, changed the shape and function of the library at the school and is demonstrably improving the delivery of education to students and their access to research tools. This initiative alone, in delivering computers to all year 9 to 12 students, will revolutionise significant approaches to education throughout our country.

The budget also delivered a number of other things consistent with the objectives of the government. This included: $2.5 billion over 10 years for trade training centres in schools; $577 million to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes for students; $62 million over three years for the National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program; and $20 million to establish a National Curriculum Board. All of these initiatives in schools are designed to help assist in lifting the year 12 or equivalent attainment rate—that is, the participation rate of students in year 12 or its equivalent—to 90 per cent by 2020. I recall throughout the Hawke and Keating periods in government, when the lifting of the participation rate of students to year 12 was made an objective, what a significant contribution that made to the improvement of educational outcomes in this country. You need to identify these targets in order to try and lift that rate. It is particularly important for a lot of young teenage men in the area that I represent that we get them through to year 12 and improve their educational outcome.

In the area of higher education, the budget provided the following: $500 million to help universities upgrade and maintain teaching, research and other student facilities; and $626 million to reduce the cost of studying maths and science at university and to reduce HECS-HELP repayments for science and maths graduates who undertake work in a related field. Boosting the number of students in maths, engineering and science disciplines at university is critical to our economic future, and the government has targeted this area in an attempt to ensure that we achieve a greater number of graduates. In my own portfolio area of defence procurement, this is the area more than anything else that is restricting the capacity of Australian industry to deliver capabilities for the future. It will be extremely important within the defence industry alone that we address the shortfall of graduates in these disciplines.

In the area of skills and workforce development, the budget included $1.9 billion to deliver up to another 630,000 training places over five years. This was recently augmented in the Economic Security Strategy too, with funding of $187 million to create an additional 56,000 new training places this year. All of these initiatives which I have detailed are helping to lay the foundation for the government’s long-term economic reform agenda through the boosting of education. It should not be said by anyone in the community—and certainly not by those opposite—that the government are not serious about pursuing the education revolution that was part of our election platform.

The education tax refund is another extremely important initiative, particularly for the parents of school-age children. It is the subject of the bill that is before the House. The education tax refund will provide additional relief for families facing rising cost-of-living pressures. Under the plan eligible families will be able to claim a 50 per cent tax refund for up to $750 in educational expenses for each child at primary school. That represents a maximum refund of $375 per child. The second leg of the plan involves a 50 per cent tax refund for up to $1,500 in education expenses for each child at secondary school—a maximum refund of $750 per child.

As the Treasurer outlined in his second reading speech in relation to this bill, eligible expenses will include very important things that are ordinary expenses to support children’s education. They include laptops, home computers, printers, paper, education software for computers, the establishment and maintenance of a home internet connection, school textbooks and associated materials and trade tools. It will also include the purchase, lease, hire or hire-purchase costs of those items. The tax refund will be available to parents who are entitled to family tax benefit part A and have children in primary or high school. It will also be payable to those who would be eligible for family tax benefit part A in respect of a child but for the fact that they or the child are in receipt of another payment such as youth allowance or disability support pension.

The tax refund will apply to eligible expenses that are incurred from 1 July 2008. One of the things that I and, I am sure, other members of the House have been doing is to encourage all eligible parents to save their receipts so that they can claim these expenses when they complete their tax return. Those families who are not required to lodge an income tax return will be able to access their entitlement by filling out a separate form that will be available through the Australian Taxation Office.

This is a significant initiative. It is valued at $4.4 billion and it is estimated that this will affect over 1.3 million families, including 2.7 million students. In my own electorate of Charlton, I know that many families have taken an interest in this initiative. They are working very hard to put their kids through school and they deserve as much assistance with education costs as they can get. Given the socioeconomic standing of many of the families in my electorate, many of them will be eligible to claim the education tax refund. We have made sure that parents, through the schools, are aware of this by ensuring that the parents and citizens groups advertise the education tax refund to all of the parents at each of the primary and secondary schools, and I have been liaising with all of the principals of the schools in my electorate as well.

Recently we have done an electorate-wide mail-out to ensure that people are aware of their entitlement to this and other initiatives that the government has taken, particularly in view of the initiatives announced as part of the economic strategy to combat the effects of the global financial crisis. Given the recent economic events and the budgetary pressures experienced by people with schoolchildren. I know that this is a very welcome initiative in the electorate. I have a very strong belief in the importance of education, and I am very proud to be part of a government that has taken this initiative. I commend the bill to the House.

Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in strong support of the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008, which will enact the Rudd government’s 2007 election commitment announced on 25 September last year. It is especially pleasing to be able to stand up in this place and speak for the working families in the seat of Deakin. This bill will bring welcome relief from the costs of education for parents of primary and secondary school students, and it is specifically targeted, the education refund being available to those parents who are receiving family tax benefit A. In my electorate of Deakin there are a total of 7,069 families who receive family tax benefit A by fortnightly instalment, and that is paid for a total of 13,008 children. Another 1,600 or so families receive their family tax benefit A by lump sum at the end of the financial year. The cut-off rate for families with primary or secondary school children for family tax benefit A ranges from $100,801 for those families with one child to $122,263 for those families with three children. These families will be able to claim 50 per cent of the cost of eligible education expenses of up to $750 per child at primary school each year, and that provides a maximum tax offset of $375 per year for each child at primary school. For each child at secondary school these families will be eligible to claim 50 per cent of up to $1,500 of eligible education expenses per year. That provides a maximum tax offset of $750 per secondary school student per year.

Like most members of this place, I visit my local schools quite often, and an issue that comes up many times when you talk to parents is the costs of schooling. Some parents are doing okay and some are doing it really tough, and extra costs that come along at the start of the school year and during the school year for essentials that cannot be done without—you cannot let your kids go to school without the right equipment—are a really important factor in budgetary pressures. So the education tax refund is an important way of dealing with it and getting money back to where it is needed to help a better educational outcome.

The education tax refund is also available to parents whose children are in homeschooling, and that is worth noting, as till now there has been very little in the way of Commonwealth support for homeschooling. It does not apply to that many people but there are certainly a group out there that strongly believe in that system, and they should also have support where it is needed—that is, to deliver materials to their students, their own children. Most importantly, the tax offset is real. It is in-your-hand money—it is not a gross amount—and, because it is a refundable tax offset, it will also be paid even if the person claiming it has no tax liability. The education tax refund is also payable to those people who may not receive family tax benefit A if they are or if the eligible child is receiving Abstudy or Student Financial Supplement Scheme or Veterans’ Children Education Scheme payments. The education tax refund is also payable to people with eligible children if they are receiving the disability support pension, Newstart allowance or youth allowance. Rather than requiring people to have a taxable income before a deduction could be claimed, as in the past, this bill will also benefit those who need it most, especially if they get by on very limited incomes. The education tax refund will be claimable from 1 July 2009 for eligible expenses incurred in the 2008-09 year.

I have had a look at the list of eligible expenses, and the more you look at it the more you see in it. I will go through those now because I think it is important that it be fleshed out, because we sometimes see a small list and sometimes a larger list, and if you read through the actual text of the bill it is quite an all-encompassing type of arrangement. It includes things like computers but also the components purchased to build a home computer. It includes computer related equipment such as printers and disability aids to assist with the use of computer equipment for students with disabilities. It includes establishing and maintaining a home internet connection, which is pretty much vital these days when it comes to education. If you have children and they come home, they certainly need access to a computer and to the knowledge base that is the internet. It is almost impossible these days to find a task set for students that relates only back to textbooks; there always seems to be a need to have this computer access. The eligible expenses also include computer software such as word-processing programs, spreadsheet and database applications, presentation software, educational games and, importantly, internet filters and anti-virus software. They include school textbooks, including prescribed textbooks, study guides and other paper based school learning material, including stationery items. They also include tools of trade prescribed by course. The eligible expenses also include running and repair costs for computers and computer related equipment such as printers and disability aids.

The good news does not stop there. When a child undergoes the transition from primary school to secondary school during a financial year, the education tax refund will apply to that student at the secondary school rate for the whole year. This will be most appreciated by working families, as the expense for a child starting a new secondary school is usually much higher than for a child continuing at the same primary school. It is also worth highlighting that if eligible expenses for a child exceed the $750 or $1,500 threshold—the annual limits for the financial year, as I have just said—they can be moved over to the next year, so the excess, over-the-top expenses can be moved to the subsequent income year. Where families have more than one eligible child, the eligible expenses can be pooled and divided between the children when accessing the tax offset, providing all the children involved would have had access to the purchased items. This could be very useful for higher cost items, such as a home computer, which may cost more than the limit set for one child. At a total cost of $4.4 billion over four years, the education tax refund will certainly be of assistance to many low- and middle-income families.

In 2007, the Brotherhood of St Laurence published a report titled Counting the cost: parental experiences of educational expenses: results from the 2007 education costs survey. This report concentrated solely on low-income families. It found that 72 per cent of respondents indicated they could not afford items that would ‘improve the education experience of their children’. It also looked at a lot of areas more closely than that. It reported that two-thirds of the survey respondents did not have a home computer with internet access. That figure compares with ABS figures from 2007 that showed that 36 per cent of Australian households did not have a home computer with internet access. The Brotherhood of St Laurence survey also recorded that 60 per cent had difficulty in paying for schoolbooks. This included almost half the respondents reporting difficulty in paying for school and education equipment. As I noted before, the education tax refund is also payable to people with eligible children if they are receiving the disability support pension, Newstart allowance or youth allowance. This is particularly important for the Brotherhood of St Laurence survey respondents, as 98 per cent had a Centrelink healthcare or pension card. Fifty-eight per cent of them received a Centrelink pension, payment or allowance, and for 40 per cent of the survey respondents this was the parenting payment at the single rate.

When the education tax refund is added to the government’s family tax benefit A bonus to be delivered from 8 December this year, there will be an even greater benefit for working families with children attending school. The start of a new school year can be financially stressful for parents, and it can be just as stressful for children, especially if they have to do without when other children attend school with more equipment than they have. It is not a new problem; it has been around for many years. Many parents do not like to think of the day their child comes home from school at the end of the year with the list of textbooks for the next year and their prices. This bill will certainly go a long way to helping out in that situation. Hopefully, it will mean that more children go to school in the next school year and, on the first day of school, will have the right books and the right stationery equipment—the things they need to be able to learn in an educational environment.

The cost of textbooks in particular may add up to several hundred dollars a year for a family. This, of course, comes straight after all the expenses of the Christmas holiday break. If you have got more than one child going to school, the bills can double or triple. If the curriculum moves around, a textbook that has been good for one year is no longer the required text for the next. When it comes to selling them off secondhand, you do not get much. When you have to buy them new, you have to pay quite a lot. The cost of buying textbooks is then followed by the cost of going to the local newsagent and getting all the stationery items for your child to go to school for the year. Again, that bill adds up very quickly. So the best thing of all about this bill is that, by keeping receipts for these items, families will get the rebate come tax time. For the many who struggle to send their children to school, it surely will be a great help during the year, and especially at the start of the year when those costs are higher. This is a good news bill that will greatly benefit working families both in Deakin and in every electorate in Australia. I commend this bill to the House.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to rise this afternoon to strongly support the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 and the new education tax refund—one more election commitment of the Rudd government that we mean to keep. I believe that the recent worldwide financial meltdown serves to highlight the enduring value of what we learn in schools, colleges and universities in a changing world. This week we believe more than ever that education is an economic investment whose value cannot be eroded by global speculation and risky lending practices in overseas economies. Education is what lasts. When the last subprime mortgage security follows the last reckless hedge fund investment into oblivion, education will be the currency that does not fail. It is for this reason that we remain committed to an education revolution and to those parents who need additional help with the everyday costs of their children’s education.

Last month, the Rudd government took decisive action to strengthen the Australian economy and support Australian families during the present global financial crisis. Indeed, the Rudd government announced it would deliver a one-off payment this year of $1,000 to the parents of around 3.9 million eligible children. Those that will receive the support include 1.9 million families who receive family tax benefit A and families who receive youth allowance, Abstudy or a benefit from the Veterans’ Children Education Scheme payment. These families will also be eligible for the new education tax refund, which will provide a refundable tax offset at 50 per cent of education expenses. In fact, the Rudd government’s first budget included $4.4 billion to create the new education tax refund. It was, I believe, our first great investment in our nation’s future prosperity. It is our affirmation of a social partnership conceived at the best-practice standard, comparable with the best in the world. We did it because we believe education increases productivity, builds prosperity and breaks the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Education is our ticket out of the underclass. It is an improvement of our souls. Education means participation. These two factors are central to lifting productivity. Whilst our physical resources are finite, human potential, human capacity, human ability and human spirit are infinite.

It is clear now to us all that Australia’s productivity declined at the same rate that education funding declined under the previous, unfocused, mendicant, somnambulant, careless Howard government. This is why, unlike our tired, dispirited, directionless predecessors, we are getting on with the job of real education reform. The 2008-09 budget is meeting, with the difficulty that the world crisis presents, our promised election commitments and helping out with schooling and learning at all levels. We want Australians to reach their high potential and we are investing in our future. We want Australia to reach its high potential and we are investing in our future. The $19.3 billion investment delivers at all ages, from early childhood to primary schools and from high schools to vocational education, training and higher education.

The education tax refund is a refundable tax offset of 50 per cent of eligible expenses for children undertaking primary and secondary school studies. Hereafter parents can more readily afford to see their children properly taught. Under the plan, eligible families will be able to claim 50 per cent of school expenses, up to $750 for each child undertaking primary school, to provide a maximum tax offset of $375 per child per year. For children undertaking secondary school studies, parents will be able to claim up to 50 per cent of their eligible expenses, up to $1,500 per child, to gain a maximum tax offset of $750 per child per year. Eligible expenses will include laptops, home computers, printers, paper, education software, school textbooks and associated materials and trade tools. In addition, the expenses of establishing and maintaining a home internet connection are included. The refund plan began on 1 July 2008, so I recommend that eligible parents start keeping receipts for their 2008-09 income tax return. Indeed, those not paying tax because of low income should lodge a separate form, available from the tax office, at the end of the current financial year.

This will assist the great schools in my Maribyrnong electorate—schools like Rosehill Secondary College, formerly Niddrie Secondary College, a proud school where principal Anne Fox is working hard to give the school its new, developed image; Essendon-Keilor College, led by David Adamson, a school with a long history of excellence, with its great heritage buildings that reflect the grandness and a century-old dream of a decent education; and Sunshine Secondary College and St Albans Secondary College, led by Tim Blunt and Kerrie Dowsley respectively. They are schools that have a vibrant culture and innovative programs. Other schools and staff include Mrs Olwen Bell, Principal, Ave Maria College; Mrs Carolyn Grantskalans from Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School; Mr Tony Larkin from Penleigh and Essendon Grammar; Mr Frank Fitzgerald from St Bernard’s College, who is retiring this year; Ms April Honeyman from St Columba’s College; Mrs Julie Williams from Kealba Secondary College; Ms Christina Utri from the Catholic Regional College; Mr Mark Vodell from Gilson College; Mr Tony Tartaro from Buckley Park Secondary College; and Mr Andrew Williamson, CEO and Principal of the Australian Technical College Sunshine.

I know that all these talented, hardworking, dedicated and passionate education teachers and leaders believe that better education is the cornerstone of a decent society. In fact, for Labor, better education is the cornerstone of a decent society. It is the lodestone and the talisman, the guardian angel and the bankable guarantee of a better society that we are striving for. Education is for us in Labor, and always has been, the light on the hill to which our eyes are ever turned and our efforts ever directed. Through our budget measures, through this legislation and through the great efforts of the Minister for Education, the Rudd government is striving to combat economic and social disadvantage—and this, I suggest, in Labor terms, is getting on with the job. This is what we are here for; this is our task. In this first way we create and sustain a fair Australia where the pursuit of happiness is available to all and a larger, more abundant life within the reach of those who seek it. I commend the legislation.

Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with great pleasure and some pride that I stand to speak on the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008, because this is evidence of the Rudd government’s commitment to the education revolution. This reflects the Rudd government’s determination to see that each and every child in Australia can afford the resources they need to attend school. This is very important legislation—legislation that I know will be welcomed in my electorate. In fact, since people living in my electorate have heard of this legislation they have been keen for it to be introduced so that they can access the benefits that will accrue to them under it.

This bill proposes to introduce a 50 per cent education tax refund aimed at assisting families with children at primary or secondary school to meet school education costs by assisting with certain education expenses, the kinds of education expenses that have put in place barriers that prevent young people from lower income families being competitive. It is okay for young people to be able to attend school and to use the resources of the school but, when it comes to things like home computers and internet access, if a student does not have these things then they will not be competitive with students who do have a home computer and access to the internet. It is also very important that the other things that are covered in this legislation, which I will get to a bit later, are made available to all students.

The education refund comes in the wake of several reports over a number of years. These reports have highlighted the difficulties of schooling costs for low-income families. For instance, the 2007 education cost survey by the Brotherhood of St Laurence found that 72 per cent of the respondents could not afford items that would improve the education experience of their children, and two-thirds did not have a home computer with internet access. This is why the legislation we are debating here in the House tonight is of such vital importance. It is imperative that all children, no matter what their parents’ income is and no matter what their level of advantage is, have access to the resources they need to achieve good educational outcomes.

The Brotherhood of St Laurence report also showed that 60 per cent of those who responded to the survey had difficulty paying for books, and half of the parents said they had difficulty paying for equipment that their children needed when they were attending school. I know that this legislation will be welcomed by not only low-income earners in my electorate but also middle-income families who are struggling to pay for all the competing expenses that they have each and every day. It is expensive for children to attend school and it is expensive for children to get a decent education, and that is why the Rudd government has made the commitment to ensure that each and every child can access a quality education and have access to the things that they need to achieve that education.

Under the refund, families who are eligible and approved will be able to claim 50 per cent of the refundable tax offset each year for up to $750 of eligible expenditure for each primary school child—that will equate to a significant refund—and a 50 per cent refundable tax offset each year for up to $1,500 of eligible expenses for each child undertaking secondary school education. As I mentioned earlier, I have been contacted by students in my electorate who are very keen to be able to access this particular scheme (Quorum formed) Before returning to the text of my speech, I acknowledge that the member for Paterson called that quorum on me; and I must say that in another parliament I did the same to him. On that occasion he abused me mercilessly, but I understand the way that the parliament works and I acknowledge his right to call a quorum. I accept the rules of the House and I hope that the member for Paterson in future will be able to show the courtesy to observe the forms of the House in a way that he could not when he was on this side of the House. I will now return to the text of my speech, but I believe that the member for Paterson did deserve some special comment.

Eligible families will be families in receipt of family tax benefit part A in respect of one or more children undertaking primary or secondary school education. Parents with one or more children who would be eligible for family tax benefit part A but for the fact that they or the child receive certain payments or allowances such as youth allowance, the disability support pension or Abstudy living allowance are also eligible. Students undertaking primary or secondary school studies and receiving the independent rate of income payments may also be eligible in respect of their own expenses. For families with shared care who are eligible for family tax benefit A or shared receipt of family tax benefit A the refund will be shared. So both parents or both carers will receive part of family tax benefit A, just as family tax benefit A is shared. For families in receipt of other payments, similar arrangements for sharing the education tax refund between the parents will occur.

Students entering or leaving school in any school year can claim half the refund attributable to the half of the financial year they attended school. Families with homeschool students may also be eligible for the refund. Eligible expenses—and I think this is very important—include the purchase, lease, hire or hire-purchase costs of laptops and home computers and associated costs; printers and paper; educational software; and school textbooks, materials and prescribed trade tools. In addition, expenses associated with establishing and maintaining a home internet connection are eligible.

In this debate I have heard previous speakers on the other side argue that school fees should attract this refund. For any member to argue that shows a complete lack of understanding of what this legislation is about. It is about providing access to the tools that will enable students to compete and to access the knowledge that is available through these tools. It is not about alleviation or making school fees any cheaper. It is about providing students with the opportunity to learn. That is very important.

There is a significant difference between what we on this side of the parliament are about and what those on the other side of the parliament are about. We are about giving each and every child the opportunity—an equal opportunity wherever possible—to learn. We are about making education accessible and making the tools of education accessible to all students. We are not about setting up a system where some students can benefit and some students cannot. This is about equity of access and equity within education.

This is legislation that, as I said earlier, will be particularly welcomed by low-income families. It focuses in the main on information technology and communication because that is vital to educational success. It is the revolution of the 21st century. For students to encompass all their learning goals, they need to have access to digital information. That is part of this government’s digital education revolution, which will be providing $1.2 billion over five years for information technology in schools.

The members on the other side of this parliament really need to embrace Labor’s education revolution. They need to acknowledge the benefit that all the students that attend their schools are obtaining from the computers that Labor is putting into their high schools. They need to acknowledge the benefit of the trade training centres, the fact that Labor is taking education into the 21st century and that Labor is about ensuring that each and every student has the opportunity to succeed.

I believe around 1.3 million families will be eligible for the refund. There was $4.4 billion included in the budget to create the education tax refund to assist these families. That is very important and of course was a Rudd government election commitment. The refund will apply to eligible expenses incurred from 1 July 2008. Eligible people should keep their receipts from 1 July 2008 to claim the tax offset in their 2008-09 tax return. I emphasise that point: it is imperative that receipts are kept so that families can claim this refund. Keep your receipts and put them in a safe place so that when it comes time to do your tax refund you will know exactly where they are.

Education, as I have said, increases productivity and participation, builds prosperity and offers hope in breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty. As I have already said, if you do not have access to the tools that give you the knowledge then you are going to find it very, very difficult to obtain a quality education and the skills that you will need to get jobs in the workforce that open the door to prosperity. No-one can deny that education is the key that unlocks the door to success in people’s lives.

It is very, very important that this legislation gets through the parliament in a timely fashion. It is very important that people within the Australian community know that, come tax time next year, they will be eligible for this allowance. I applaud the minister for putting this legislation to the parliament and the Rudd government for its foresight in acknowledging the importance that information technology plays and acknowledging the fact that education is the key to success and that to obtain that education you need to have the resources. That is why the education tax refund will be of such vital importance to all those people who are in receipt of the benefits that I highlighted earlier—those low- to middle-income families that need to obtain the tools for their children to succeed in education.

Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to briefly take the time of the House to address the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 and, as previous speakers before me have done in this debate, some of the broader education issues related to it. As speakers on this side have made clear, the coalition will be supporting this measure; however, as we have also made clear, we think it is too narrow. It is no secret that at the last election we had a broader policy, both in items covered and in families covered. We think this policy that has been put forward is too narrow—we have said so—but we acknowledge that it will be of assistance to those parents who are eligible in the narrow field of items that are covered.

The previous speaker, the member for Shortland, mentioned the digital revolution, as it is called by those opposite, which many other speakers from the government side have lauded. Those opposite in their heart of hearts know that there is great scepticism about the so-called education revolution. The hollowness is now coming to the fore. We have heard the computers in schools policy lauded by those opposite, but they know that, as we approach the one-year anniversary of the election of this government, many will look back to those first few days after that election when the first COAG meeting was held to set out the new deal with the states and to end the blame game. The first thing that was going to happen on that agenda back in December was that all of the costs for the computers in schools were going to be worked out. But, no, that was deferred until March and deferred again until July. We had the Treasurer saying in the days before that July COAG meeting that everything would be sorted out. New South Wales has since refused to participate in the computers in schools policy.

We have had parents complaining across all of our electorates. We know that members opposite have had the same thing across their electorates because as the detail has come to the fore it has become quite obvious that this program was not thought through properly and that the cost of putting computers on the desks of every student in years 9, 10, 11 and 12 had not been thought through. What has happened is that the states have said they are not going to pay the bills. Julia Gillard, the Minister for Education, has put her head in the sand all year on this issue and, as we have warned from this side of the House right through this year, parents are now being hit with the bill. We have the extraordinary situation where we have the members opposite saying how important it is to assist parents—and we agree with that—but ignoring the fact that now parents are being hit with a new Rudd government computer tax. In my electorate of Casey—

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Shorten interjecting

Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Maribyrnong might learn something here. He might find that he is going to have a similar situation in his electorate. I have had parents inform me that they will need to pay an annual levy of between $150 and $300 every year—it has just come out to the parents this week—to fund the computers in schools policy. The school has had to impose this levy to pay for all of those on-costs that are obvious to anyone installing a computer anywhere, obvious to anyone except the minister. I would not go so far as to exclude those opposite from that. I think that they would realise that, if you buy a computer and you actually want to make it work, you need to plug it into something, you need to connect it to the internet—

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Who told you that?

Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Not Julia Gillard, not the Minister for Education. Now the parents at Lilydale High School have been told that they will have to pay an annual levy of between $150 and $300 a year. This is about to be repeated in numbers of high schools across Australia if they want to make the computers work. If they are prepared to leave the computers sitting in boxes, gathering dust and not making use of them, perhaps they will not have to charge a levy, but high schools as a result of combined federal and state Labor incompetence—as a result of one year of talk and no action—are having to charge parents to implement this Rudd Labor government policy. This has been happening all year; it has been obvious to anyone wanting to see.

I do not know what happens at these COAG meetings. Perhaps somebody has the secret remote control that they pointed at the Treasurer last week when they hit ‘mute’ and for 80 seconds he sat there unable to speak. Perhaps that is what happens every time computers in schools are mentioned at COAG; perhaps there is just silence. But now this new Rudd tax will be imposed on the parents of Lilydale High School students and other high school students across Victoria and Australia.

It was with great fanfare that the policy was announced at the last federal election—a computer on every desk—but I tell you what was not in the policy. What was not in the policy was that every parent would have to pay a fee or a tax to actually make the computers work. The other thing parents across Australia, particularly at primary schools, have realised is that the Investing in Our Schools Program has been abolished. The Investing in Our Schools Program, which enabled schools to pick the projects they wanted, has been abolished.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Shorten interjecting

Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I persist in light of unfair interjections—

Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Do not be incited. Order!

Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Those opposite will do everything they can to defend the indefensible. Before the last election, if you go back to the computers in schools policy, nowhere did the Prime Minister say, ‘I will impose a tax of $150 to $300 on the parents of high-school students.’ This has been announced by Lilydale High School. There will be other schools that will do the same thing. They are forced to do this because of the complete and utter incompetence of those opposite.

As we approach the anniversary of the last election, two weeks away, parents will reflect on the great gap between what was promised and what is actually being delivered. What is being delivered today in this legislation—we say it is too narrow, we say it should be broader—is only possible because the previous government left a budget in surplus, left a budget able to fund precisely these sorts of programs, like the Investing in Our Schools Program, across the education area. As those opposite speak on this bill, they should consider the computers in schools policy. It is not good enough to talk about just the rebate and the new computers in schools policy in tandem without acknowledging the fact that parents right across Australia are now starting to be hit with fees and levies in order to actually make the computers work.

Gary Gray (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Tuesday last week I visited a school in my electorate, Mandurah High School, to officiate at the opening of an Investing in Our Schools project. It is an excellent project. It was the construction of a sporting oval and also included funding for facilities in the canteen. When the principal, Alfred King, pointed out to me that in my speech I had given praise to the former government for the Investing in Our Schools Program, I also pointed out that in fact the former government had closed that program in January 2007. Long before the federal election, the money had run out, the program had ended and it was time to move on. A good program had served its purpose and, as we say, it was time to move on. But what do we then move on to? Investing in education is important for many reasons. It empowers those who are going through the education process. It enables our kids to grow. It gives them opportunities. Education is so fundamental to the lives of young Australians—and older Australians too—and it is important to the young people in my electorate as they go about preparing for their way in life.

It was instructive that in 2006-07, when many of the debates were taking place in the House and throughout the country in the run-up to our election, the funding of education became an issue of great importance, not just because it was about how much money each side was putting into education but because of what it was about. It became apparent in 2006 that Australia was not slowly but rapidly slipping down the OECD tables for attainment, achievement and spending in education. We have had noted in this place that in pre-primary education funding we had slipped from a respectable position in the OECD to 25th out of the 26 countries that were surveyed.

We know that education relates to opportunity. We know that education relates to how prepared for work our kids and our young adults will be. We know that education relates to how productive our economy will be and how productive our workplaces will be. But we also know that over the last decade national investment in education has been falling. It has been falling both as a proportion of GDP and when measured against those countries with which we like to compare ourselves. We would never say that the former government did not spend on education, but we would say they did not spend enough and we would say that on many occasions the programs that were in place were spending 25c or 26c rather than fixing real problems.

The Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 is not just about education but about families. It is a bill about supporting education and supporting parents. It is a $4.4 billion education tax refund. It joins key elements of our tax system with the education needs of young families. It is targeted at those families who are in receipt of family tax benefit part A and who have kids in primary school or secondary school. It is estimated, as we have been told, that over 1.3 million families with 2.7 million children or students will receive this benefit. As we have heard many times, it is to cover eligible expenses such as laptops, home computers, printers, paper, internet access and the rest.

It is a good initiative—it is an excellent initiative—but it is an initiative that comes in the context of a range of other measures taken by the government, and the former government, to improve school performance. An important initiative in this area is to properly assess school performance, to look at the indicators that allow parents to understand how well their schools are performing and therefore to understand within the assessment process how well their children are doing in reference to not just their own school population but the school population of the state. The WALNA test in Western Australia and the national school testing processes are simply invaluable. My own children have been subject to these tests, and when we get the results back they form an illuminating view of not just how well our children are doing but also how well our public education system is performing. It performs because we have quality teachers. It performs because we have people who dedicate their lives to teaching and to ensuring that our children are given the best possible start.

In my own life, the teachers who made the biggest impact on me throughout my primary and high school years, as I have said on many occasions in this place, are Bruce Wilton, Dale Doderidge, Miss Knight—the headmistress of my school, Whyalla High School—and Ken Harrington. They all had a big impact on me as I grew up.

When I look at the teachers and the schools in my electorate of Brand, I see some truly outstanding examples of educators working with tremendous skill to perform the task of bringing our kids on in life. We have in the middle of my electorate a language development centre. It is almost unique. It allows the teachers to have optimal resources to both understand and provide education for kids with various disadvantages—often a speech delay, sometimes a central processing difficulty. Sometimes the kids are autistic. Sometimes the kids come into that school with parents so frustrated at not being able to teach their children. A wonderful atmosphere has been established by principal Judy Smailes and Fiona Forbes, her assistant, in putting together an education program for kids who otherwise would face the most crushing educational hurdles. They would certainly not be able to obtain the benefit of education were it not for the great effort put in by the teachers at the Fremantle learning centre in my electorate.

In the course of the past few weeks, I have had cause to attend half a dozen end-of-school functions, including ones at Gilmore College, Safety Bay Senior High School and Hillman Primary School. They are functions which allow you to see the kids in their own environment and, even more important than that, the pride on the face of the teachers as they watch their kids graduate from school. In my electorate I have some outstanding schools and some outstanding teachers. At Charthouse Primary School there is Stephen Yates. At Baldivis Primary School, John Worthy is working in a small community developing wonderful programs that cover a broad spectrum of education but with a particular focus on the kind of cultural environment that is best suited to the children from the Baldivis area. John does a wonderful job. At Kolbe Catholic College a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the first handover of computers under the computers in schools program, which we have had quite a bit of a discussion on in the course of this debate. The computers in schools program at Kolbe Catholic College is something that Caroline Payne, the principal, had been enthusiastic about. When I looked at the children logging on to their computers and engaging in education and learning through computer technology, I knew that the government’s initiative was not just at the right time: it was the right initiative with the right amount of financial resources behind it to make it work.

At Hillman Primary School, Wayne McKay runs an excellent school in a pretty tough part of town, where the kids are enthusiastic and the teachers are even more enthusiastic. Up at the Peter Carnley Anglican College, Peter Martin runs a school which is brand new. He struggles often because the school is so new, but the wonderful facilities that are there and which are working create the best possible environment for those children as they go through their primary and secondary school education. Down at Mandurah Senior College last Friday week I opened the school oval and the new facilities in the canteen. Again, it gave me exposure to the good things that are happening not only in the education system in Western Australia but also in Australia. At Gilmore College, we saw the opening just a few weeks ago of a $65 million brand new high school, primary school and preschool—an integrated facility that will be working to bring the children of Kwinana through an education process that is not just the best available in Kwinana but the best available in the most modern school.

At Calista Primary School in Kwinana, which I visited just a few weeks ago, Glenn Edwards has been working on his teaching programs and taking such care of his children as they get to the end of the current school year. He enthusiastically attended the graduation ceremony at Gilmore College which his primary school kids will attend next year. You see teachers all the time—and principals in particular—working above and beyond the call of duty. They are working not just at a job; they are working at a calling that they enjoy and which has a massive and positive impact on the children whose lives they affect.

I come back to the core of the bill that we are debating here today. It delivers on a pre-election promise. It acknowledges the costs of living that families face and it acknowledges that technology and education play a role together in the lives of our children in schools and at home. It takes action to respond to the community need to ensure that our children can, at home, get access to the same excellent technology that now they will get access to at school. We know that this new initiative is one that sets our government apart from all predecessors and sets our children up in their schools for the most wonderful education experience.

We have heard much about the former government’s programs. I am the first to acknowledge there was much good that they did. But I do point out that the Investing in Our Schools Program was wound up in January 2007. I would also point out that in my electorate of Brand, throughout 2007, many former government ministers, including the former Prime Minister, campaigned to establish an ATC in Rockingham—not because there was an educational need for an ATC in Rockingham but because the school was to be the beneficiary of pork-barrelling in the seat of Brand in order to target the former member, Kim Beazley. When the current government refused to fund that ATC—I had campaigned against the funding of that ATC—it seemed to come as some surprise to people that the best teaching system throughout the southern suburbs of Perth was already there. It is a TAFE system, the Challenger TAFE system, which is an outstanding system for trades training and apprenticeships throughout Western Australia. It seemed to be not just a waste of taxpayers’ money to put $20 million into an ATC but also an affront to the outstanding teaching and the resources that have been put into TAFE teaching in Western Australia.

What we have here today is an Australian government using not just the instruments of government to fund computers in schools; this bill brings together both instruments available to government and the parliament to help families. It is where tax rebates and education policy meet. It amends the Income Tax Assessment Act and allows it to be used for educational purposes. We have talked in this place about how the computers in schools are such an effective initiative and how additional funding for technical training in our high schools is so critically important. We have also come to the conclusion that the education refund bill will not only positively affect the ability of all families who are the recipients of family tax benefit part A to ensure that their children have excellent computing capacity at home to match the excellent computing capacity that we will be putting into schools but also recognise the costs that families face and goes some way to assisting in ensuring that all children get the best possible opportunity from our education system. I commend the bill to the House.

Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like many people in this House, I do not need to have my arm twisted to talk about education, in particular the education of young people. While I have the opportunity, may I recognise the Minister for Sport, who is at the table, for her excellent initiative announced during the election campaign and in the budget, the local sporting champions grants, which were announced today. I hope I have not pre-empted anything, but I know that there has been a great demand—

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Youth and Sport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Kate Ellis interjecting

Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, there you go! There has always been a terrific demand for members to support our local champions and this will go a long way, Minister, to helping us support them. I do thank you very much and I know the House will be appreciative of your excellent work there.

Little could be more important in our education revolution than providing a means for parents to provide for their children’s education needs. I share with many thousands of Australian families the cost of education, with two sons currently completing their university studies, but I have not forgotten the additional financial demands made during the early and middle years of education. Unfortunately, additional assistance as intended in this legislation was not available when my sons, William and Julian, were at the Forth Primary School, Ulverstone High School and then The Don College, the local senior secondary college. But, with two teachers for parents, the importance of investing in our children’s education was very clear in our household.

The Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 is the result of an election promise and, like nearly every other piece of legislation brought before this House in 2008, is clear, practical proof of a government honouring its election commitments to Australian families. It is a $4.4 billion commitment over four years from the Rudd government to help make it easier for parents and encourage them to provide for their children the best they can to keep them engaged in school. It is an important financial commitment and needs to be passed through the parliament as soon as possible to allow time for its promotion to parents around the country so that they can keep the records they need to substantiate a claim come tax time next year. Indeed, like a number of members in this place, I have already commenced a public awareness campaign in my electorate encouraging parents to keep their receipts in relation to eligible education expenses.

I would add that this is no small measure, with an estimated 1.3 million families and some 2.7 million students expected to be eligible for the benefits. The refund is available as a tax offset of 50 per cent of eligible education expenses. This might be for laptops, home computers, printers, paper, education software, school textbooks and associated materials and trade tools. The expenses for establishing and maintaining a home internet connection are also included, sensibly. Today, this is an important part of education support. Indeed, education does not begin and end at school.

It surprised me to read the results of the Brotherhood of St Laurence’s 2007 Education costs survey. It has been quoted by many members of this House through the Bills Digest, but I think it is worth reiterating, particularly for those who may be listening to this debate. It found that 72 per cent of respondents could not afford items that would improve the education experience of their children. It also concluded that some 60 per cent had difficulty paying for books and that almost half reported difficulty paying for equipment. The same report revealed that two-thirds did not have a home computer with internet access.

That survey was directed at lower income folk, but its conclusions are disturbing. While it is hard to believe, we cannot let it continue. Being without the internet in this day and age is like being locked out of the library. While it does have its pitfalls, it can also be hugely important and valuable, particularly when coupled with an inquiring young mind. Those of us who are a little longer in the tooth may be a little wary of the research benefits of the internet, but the younger generation have grown up with it and know how to navigate through the reliable and less reliable sources in cyberspace. The education tax refund should help by providing support to upgrade computers or providing a high-speed internet connection for the first time to some households. Indeed, one member—I think it was my colleague the member for Deakin—pointed out that one can purchase parts in order to make a home computer. I would find that a very productive activity and an expense that one could claim would give an excellent result.

I acknowledge that there is a case for extending the refund to include other items such as assistance to pay for school uniforms, textbooks, excursions and sports experiences, for example, and this would be well and good. However, unlike the opposition and their 12-year track record of providing little to no assistance to families in relation to education expenses, this government is specifically assisting families to offset ITC centred information learning or trade skills expenses, or at least seeking to encourage families to invest in these contemporary tools of teaching and learning. This refund initiative is just one of an array from this government to strengthen the education of all Australians—and I stress again: of all Australians. Despite the criticisms of some, we are not interested in playing favourites. We want to give support where it is needed.

I would like to repeat some of the extensive and generous plans that are part of what we deem to be an education revolution. Contrary to what some may believe and you may read in the media, this is in fact an education revolution. Revolutions begin in small ways, are resourced in small ways and grow, and that is what is happening with education. We have some opposite, and some unkind to our education revolution, who would see it all happen within six or seven months. This is a group of people who had 12 to 13 years to do something about it but now they expect it to be done in 12 to 13 months. Revolutions do not just happen overnight. This is a $19.3 billion effort in the education sector, a major indicator of just how serious this government is about supporting our schools. It includes the digital education revolution to improve the number and quality of computers in schools across the nation. I have already seen the benefit of this with schools in my electorate among those to benefit from the first round of the scheme.

We are also working toward the development of a quality national curriculum, despite those opposite wishing to personally attack some of those that are constructing our curriculum. Why am I surprised? It is something that will be important in preparing our students for the 21st century. It includes more to improve school infrastructure and maintain what schools already have in place. A national action plan on literacy and numeracy will also be important to ensuring the basics are put in place to give young people their best chance at life. And with $2.5 billion over 10 years we will see schools across the nation set up trades training centres to enable young people with practical skills and aptitude to hone these skills in their early school years to come out ready to address the massive skills shortage we have and to ensure we do not have it again.

The Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to introduce the education tax refund or the ETR. The ETR will provide a 50 per cent refundable tax offset for eligible education expenses up to a maximum of $750 for children undertaking primary education studies and $1,500 for children undertaking secondary education studies. Under the plan eligible families will be able to claim 50 per cent of eligible education expenses up to $750 for each child undertaking primary school studies to provide a maximum tax offset of $375 per child per year. For those children undertaking secondary school studies, families will be able to claim 50 per cent of their eligible expenses up to $1,500 per child to give a maximum tax offset of $750 per child per year. It is a refundable tax offset and therefore will apply to eligible applicants regardless of their tax liability. That is, it will also be paid if the person has no tax liability. Taxpayers who are entitled to the ETR include those in receipt of family tax benefit part A payment for a child; taxpayers and/or their child who receive other payments that preclude them from receiving family tax benefit A3; or taxpayers who are independent students and receive payments such as youth allowance, disability support pension or Abstudy living allowance.

The ETR will apply to eligible expenses incurred from 1 July 2008 and will be claimable when income tax returns are submitted. Therefore, the ETR will be claimable from 1 July 2009, and that is why it is important to reiterate that families wishing to claim the refund should collect and keep their dockets and so forth. Eligible expenses for the ETR include the purchase, lease or hire purchase of computers and computer related equipment such as printers and disability aids and associated costs, a home internet connection, computer software, school textbooks and other paper based school learning material, including stationery and course prescribed tools of trade. If a child transitions from primary to secondary education during a financial year, the ETR will apply at the secondary rate for the entire year and education expenses in excess of the taxpayer’s offset limit for a financial year can be transferred to the subsequent income year.

I am very pleased to support this Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008. Before I finish altogether I would just like to acknowledge the number of schools in my electorate that I have had the privilege of visiting recently, and I hope to use another occasion to more extensively discuss what I was able to do and what I was able to experience in those schools. I would like to acknowledge the following schools and the work of their leaderships teams, their teachers in particular, the students themselves, and their parents and friends associations. In particular there is the Yolla District School, Burnie High School, Parklands High, Reece High School, Cooee Primary—a great name—along with Penguin Primary—another good name—East Ulverstone, the Moriarty Primary—another interesting name and a magnificent little school—the Nixon Street Primary School, the Oakwood Brethren School at East Devonport, the North West Christian School, at Penguin and my old stamping ground of 25 years, The Don College, which is going through some fundamental changes in the next year in Tasmania with post grade 10 education. And there are many other schools that I am looking forward to seeing particularly in their break-up nights towards the end of the year. It gives me great pleasure to support the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008.

Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 but before I get into the substance of the bill I would like to welcome a number of people from my electorate who are in the building tonight to attend the inaugural FedCats annual dinner. FedCats is, of course, the parliamentary support group for the Geelong Football Club. It is very appropriate that I am making this statement, with the Minister for Sport in the chamber. Of course, the Minister for Sport supports a club of different coloured hoops, being the member for Adelaide, but she is, as the Minister for Sport, an honorary FedCat and we very much welcome that.

We have tonight Frank Costa, the President of the Geelong Football Club, Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson, the Coach of the Geelong Football Club, and Brian Cook, the CEO of the Geelong Football Club, all attending the annual dinner. I remember my time at the ACTU and talking to Bill Kelty, the former Secretary of the ACTU who himself is an AFL commissioner. He said to me back in 2000 that those three people represented the strongest leadership trio of any team within the AFL, and he was absolutely right. As difficult as the event six weeks ago was, which we shall not mention, we will have a great night tonight with all those people here. They are very much welcome to this House. I should also say that attending the dinner tonight are a number of civic leaders from Geelong who will be in the parliament over the next few days raising a number of serious issues concerning the Geelong region with a number of ministers, and I very much welcome them here as well.

The Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 is a bill to amend the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 with consequential amendments to the Taxation Administration Act 1953, A New Tax System (Family Assistance Administration) Act 1999, the Social Security Administration Act 1999 and the Student Assistance Act 1973. It is a bill for the purpose of introducing the education tax refund, which will assist eligible families with children enrolled in both primary and secondary schools in meeting the schooling costs and other related educational expenses associated with their children’s education. It does this simply by providing a 50 per cent refundable tax offset for eligible education expenses up to a maximum of $1,500 for each secondary school child and $750 for each enrolled primary school child. As the Treasurer noted in his second reading speech in relation to this bill, that covers about 1.3 million families and 2.7 million students who will be eligible for this fund.

The bill and the associated fund is another instance of the Rudd government meeting the commitments and the promises it made in the election which has given rise to this term of parliament, and it contributes to the government’s overall education revolution policy agenda where government does mean, step by step and in a steady progressive way, to completely change our education system and to inject some robustness into it. The Rudd government sees that education is the cornerstone of social cohesion and that a strong education system lifts our national prosperity. Education assists our nation by increasing workplace participation, productivity and our nation’s wealth, and for every individual it also offers the ability to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. It is the single most important aspect of creating opportunity within our society. As I said, the Rudd government has a plan to improve the state of our nation’s education system and step by step, very steadily, we are working towards that.

That stands in stark contrast to the efforts of the former, Howard government. Their efforts were defined by a litany of counterproductive policy measures and ineptitude, both in power and now in opposition. We can see this through a range of OECD statistics about education and the place where Australia stands, if you like, on the international league tables in a number of respects in relation to education. Recent OECD education reports spanning the final years of the Howard government ranked Australia 19 out of 28 developed nations on overall education spending, and second last only to Belgium on investment in public education institutions. Just 0.1 per cent of GDP was being spent on pre-primary institutions. That compared to an OECD average of 0.4 per cent. Indeed there were some countries, such as Israel, Denmark and Hungary, spending around 0.8 per cent of their GDP on pre-primary institutions.

Ours were the most crowded classrooms. Whereas you had countries like Hungary with on average 20 students per classroom, the Slovak Republic with 20 students per classroom, Estonia with 19, Slovenia with 18 and the Russian Federation with 16, Australia had on average 24 students per classroom. The effects of this neglect could be seen in a range of test results which showed an adverse result in terms of our educational system. For example, a 2005 study indicated that one in five children in year 7 were not meeting the benchmarks for numeracy and around one in 10 were not meeting reading and writing benchmarks. That was a national disgrace. That is exactly the reason why we need to have an education revolution in this country.

The tertiary sector fared little better. Again according to the OECD, the Howard government spend in this area towards the end of its term was only 1.1 per cent of GDP—again well below the OECD average. Australia ranked on the lower rungs of the OECD in terms of its spend on tertiary education. Only Russia, Brazil, Japan, Italy, Korea and Chile were spending less public money on their tertiary education as a proportion of GDP. Throughout the entirety of the Howard government, Australia was the only country in the OECD that reduced its spending as a proportion of GDP on tertiary education during those years. That is as appalling a legacy as exists of the Howard years.

In 1999 the former Prime Minister promised that there would never be $100,000 university fees under his government, and yet the Good Universities Guide 2008 notes that there are more than 100 degrees listed by public universities that cost in excess of $100,000. Now that they are in opposition, we see this same policy of ineptitude continuing and a continued policy of getting it wrong in relation to education.

In this regard we have seen recent Liberal Party press releases from the new shadow education minister, the member for Sturt, which make very interesting reading. For example, on Sunday, 5 October he said:

If Labor’s figures of 116,000 new computers being delivered Australia-wide are to be believed, then just this first round could cost taxpayers as much as $600 million.

When those of us on this side of the House first heard this figure, there were many raised eyebrows indeed. But what came next was completely unbelievable. On Tuesday, 21 October the shadow minister for education said:

116,000 new computers mean a potential $3 to 4 billion out of the states bottom line.

This is hyperbole spiralling out of control. We have extravagant rhetoric which is inversely proportional to the efficacy of the coalition’s action on this area of policy.

By contrast, the Labor Party has a very proud and strong history when it comes to education policy in this country. We on this side of the House actually do know how our sums add up and we know how to apply that to the public purse. Through this bill we are building on a very strong Labor Party legacy in relation to education. It was the Chifley government that introduced university scholarships, established the Australian National University and reorganised the nation’s science research institutions into the CSIRO. It was the Whitlam government that increased education funding, abolished university fees and established the Schools Commission to oversee educational expenditure. It was the Hawke-Keating government which boosted recurrent funding for schools, expanded university places through the introduction of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme, upgraded the national traineeship and apprenticeship scheme and raised school retention rates to their highest ever levels, with almost eight in 10 students at that time completing their secondary studies. Now it is the Rudd government building on that legacy, working to correct the failings of the Howard years and advance our nation’s education system.

In doing that, we are committed to providing our nation with an education revolution. We have budgeted for this, and the centrepiece is, of course, the government’s $11 billion Education Investment Fund, the key priority of which is capital works expenditure. But we see in a range of other areas within education as well: $533 million over five years for universal access to early childhood education; $1.6 billion over four years to raise the childcare tax rebate; and $126 million over four years for early educator training. In relation to schools there is $2.5 billion over 10 years for the Trade Training Centres in Schools Program, $1.2 billion over five years to provide for the digital education revolution component of the government’s policy agenda and $577 million over four years for literacy and numeracy support. In tertiary education there is $238 million over four years for new scholarship programs, $562 million to encourage students to study in the fields of mathematics and science, $99 million to fund new nursing places and $249 million to compensate universities and replace full-fee-paying courses with Commonwealth supported courses. In addition to that is specific funding for the advancement of Indigenous education and other specialised capital works. And on top of all that is $4.4 billion in funding that will create the new education tax refund, which is the subject of this bill.

As I said at the outset, the education tax refund will provide eligible families with a 50 per cent refundable tax offset per year in relation to primary age children for up to $750 per child—that represents a $375 refund—and a 50 per cent refundable tax offset per year for every secondary school age child for up to $1,500 per child, which represents a $750 refund. Eligible families are those in receipt of family tax benefit A and those who would be eligible to receive family tax benefit A were their child not already in receipt of other payments such as the youth allowance, disability support pension or Abstudy. Enrolled students directly receiving an independent rate of income support payment may also be eligible.

There are other provisions associated with this bill: for those parents who are in shared arrangements for the raising of their child, the education tax refund will be shared between the parents according to the applicable division of the family tax benefit A; students who are enrolled for only part of a year will be eligible for half the applicable payment; those students who are transitioning between primary and secondary school in the same financial year will be eligible for the secondary school rate of the refund; and home schooled students will also be eligible if they are registered with the relevant state or territory authority. The eligible expenses that can be claimed under the refund include the purchase, lease or hire-purchase of computers or computer related equipment, internet connections, computer software, text books and stationery and course prescribed tools of trade. Those eligible for the refund will be able to claim it in their 2008-09 income tax return. I, along with many of my colleagues who have spoken in this debate, would encourage parents in my electorate to make sure that they hold on to their receipts so that they can claim all of these benefits come tax time next year.

In my electorate, there are currently 11,478 families receiving family tax benefit A. That means over 20,000 children in the electorate of Corio stand to benefit as a result of this bill. I know that these funds will assist the people of my electorate, ensuring that their children receive the tools they need to engage successfully in the education process. I am absolutely sure they will welcome the government’s approach to reforming our nation’s educational system. Labor in government, both past and present, is proud of its policies and achievements in the field of education. We have always been about serving the national interest. We have been driven by a desire to increase social cohesion and productivity in our nation through educating our people. That is very much at the heart of the bill which is before the House this evening.

Conversely, those opposite have a legacy when it comes to education of ineptitude. They seem determined to maintain the approach that they had in government in opposition as well. The Rudd government has a nation-building agenda. Ensuring a well-maintained and functioning education system is absolutely at the centre of that nation-building agenda. We are working to bring to this country an education revolution to arrest the years of decline in education standards and funding that were endured under the Howard government. This bill is an important part of building that and I very much commend it to the House.

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I speak to the bill, I too welcome the Bay Cats to parliament, but point out to the member for Corio while the Minister for Sport is in the House that everybody knows that the most significant sporting event in Geelong is in fact the Bay Crit—five days of elite cycling which takes place in early January. I look forward to spending seven days in your electorate in a couple of months time.

I am very pleased to rise to speak on the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008. It is strongly supported by the people of my electorate. I am not surprised by how incredibly welcome it is. Education is an area that is close to my heart and to that of my electorate. Education stands at the very core of a fair society. Labor believes that education is the cornerstone of opportunity. It increases productivity and participation, it builds prosperity and it goes a long way to breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty and hardship. More than the productivity of the nation and more than the earning capacity of an individual, education opens up the world, improves the ability to relate to a broad range of people and circumstances and allows us to experience the joy in understanding and the awe in things incomprehensible. It is very much about quality of life, quality of relationships and the very quality of our life experiences. I, like so many people in my community, am the first in my family to get a university education. Quite frankly, I cannot imagine what my life would be like if that were not the case.

In my new redistributed electorate of Parramatta, the bell curve of average household income is quite flat. We have large group of people who are quite comfortable. We have a very large group of people who live with significant disadvantage. I see far too many people disadvantaged at the youngest of ages—at the very beginning of their lives—because the natural curiosity of the child and the incessant concentration that supports the rapid learning curve of the infant have not been converted into a love of learning. We are not doing as well as a nation as we should when it comes to education.

I would like to make it quite clear here that I am not criticising schools or teachers, particularly those in my electorate. We have great teachers, great parents and some extraordinary schools. Schools such as Westmead Public, Lynwood Park and Wentworthville Public are extraordinary examples of schools doing remarkable jobs in areas of relative disadvantage. While as a nation we have been reducing our expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP, the teachers in these schools have been holding our systems together. We have not been doing well as a nation and we have not been doing well for quite a while.

In Western Sydney, that poor record as a nation is showing. For me, one of the starkest indicators of that neglect over at least a decade is that university enrolment rates are significantly lower in Western Sydney than they are Sydney wide. In fact, about three per cent of our people enrol in university, whereas Sydney wide the figure is 5.2 per cent. And that difference has widened over the last 10 years. Nationwide, retention rates have stagnated over the last decade and around one in five teenagers are not finishing high school. At a time when everybody knows that competing globally means improving our skills, one in five of our teenagers are not finishing high school. And that figure has stagnated for over a decade.

When capacity constraints were putting upward pressure on inflation, we still did not invest in education as a nation. In economic terms, that is hard to believe; in social terms, it is quite shameful. We think of ourselves as an egalitarian society, but there is still far too much correlation between income of parents and the education level of their children. That is not the case in all countries of the world but it is in ours. I know that for many of the little kids that I see down at the shopping centres with their mums the only way out of poverty is education. That is why we committed prior to the last election to an education revolution.

After so many years of neglect, it is a hard thing to change a nation and bring about an education revolution. But our teachers have been carrying far more of the weight of education than they should. Families have been wearing the increased costs of providing education for their children, not just at school through excursion fees and other extras but in providing a learning environment for their children at home. It is that particular area—the providing of a learning environment at home—that this bill is aimed at.

The bill is another example of Labor delivering on its election commitments. This bill and a range of other policies will move this nation from a paper world to the digital one, preparing our children for a world of technology that we cannot even imagine. In this day and age, that means access to computers and the internet. We all know that children who have access to computers at a young age learn very quickly. We probably all have nieces, children and neighbours who, even at the age of four and five, can find their way around a computer far better than we can as adults. I was down at Pendle Hill Public School last week for one of their open days and I watched children in the very early years of primary school making computer animation which was quite sophisticated and very clever, working with quite sophisticated PowerPoint presentations and using interactive whiteboards quite comfortably in the classroom.

It is astonishing what an advantage it is for children to have access to computers at a very young age. It is well overdue that we equip with computer technology both our schools and, where possible, children’s homes for the future. We have the computers in schools program and we have a commitment to a national broadband to increase the speed of access around the nation. This bill is about helping parents meet the cost of educating their children in that world of computers. This bill is about setting up the home as a place where a child’s school education can be supported.

We would all know of children who do not have that kind of environment at home, who have a computer but no internet connection or who do not have access to computers at all. So let us look at who is eligible for this tax refund. Parents and others who are entitled to family tax benefit part A and who have children at either primary or secondary school will be eligible to claim this refund. In addition, those who would be eligible for family tax benefit part A but for the fact that they or their child is in receipt of other payments such as youth allowance, the disability support pension or an Abstudy living allowance will also be eligible. Students who are living independently of their parents may also be eligible to receive the education tax refund for their own expenses. When a student moves between primary school and high school during the financial year, their parents will be able to claim expenses at the secondary school rate of up to $1,500.

About 1.3 million families, with about 2.7 million students, will be eligible for the refund. In the Parramatta electorate there are over 12,000 families receiving family tax benefit part A and, again, I know how welcome this refund is for them. For those eligible families, the education tax refund will provide a 50 per cent refundable tax offset for eligible education expenses up to a maximum of $750 for children at primary school and $1,500 for children at secondary school. This means that parents will be able to recoup up to $375 of the costs incurred on eligible items for each primary school student and up to $750 for each high school student. Because it is a tax offset, those without a tax liability will also be able to claim that amount.

Eligible expenses under this bill include: the purchase, lease or hire purchase of computers and computer related equipment such as printers and disability aids and their associated costs, a home internet connection, computer software, school textbooks and other paper based material such as stationary, and course prescribed tools of trade. I was talking to some parents about this the other week and they related to me the cost of their internet connection and the computers which they had bought specifically for their children. Of course, they will be looking to upgrade them shortly as their children get older. For many parents in my electorate this refund will be extremely welcome. I am incredibly pleased to see that purchase, lease and hire purchase of such equipment is included. This is a substantial contribution to the education of our children and a very welcome offset for working families that need it most. This bill helps parents meet the costs of giving their children the best education possible.

The opposition has made the claim that the bill does not cover a range of things such as fees, uniforms and extracurricular activities—and it does not. It covers specifically the items that I have referred to. In 12 years the now opposition had the opportunity to introduce tax refunds for those items and did not. They were apparently going to do it in their 13th year. In Julie Bishop’s speech in the second reading debate she said:

This bill reveals the government’s true colours, because it takes away choice from parents. It is dictating to parents what they must spend their money on.

This is nice emotive language but it gives far too much power to government and is, of course, laughable. People all over the country spend money on things that are not tax deductible. Holidays are not tax deductible; people still spend money on them. Tax law does not dictate what people must spend money on. We are really just not that powerful. But in helping parents meet the costs of textbooks, stationery and computer equipment there will be a flow-on effect in the family budget which may free up money for other items, such as those that the opposition is so concerned about.

This is a good, strong initiative. It has been warmly welcomed by the people in my electorate. I, like so many other members in the House, urge everybody who is eligible for this tax offset to keep their receipts this financial year so that they can make their claim after June next year.

Sharryn Jackson (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to rise to support the passage of this legislation before the parliament. The Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 gives effect to another Rudd Labor government election commitment and provides for the implementation of another plank in Labor’s education revolution. One of the Labor Party’s enduring values is that a person’s opportunities in life and their standard of living are related to their educational opportunities. It is well accepted that the long-term social and economic outcomes of a nation’s people are greatly influenced by that nation’s investment in education. This government was elected because of, among other things, its stated desire to bring significant reforms to Australia’s education system based upon principles such as that all children have the right to high-quality education so that they can live fulfilling and rewarding lives. It is the responsibility of government to protect that right.

Government must increase investment in raising standards at all levels of education and improving our participation and retention rates. Government must ensure that there is fairness in the allocation of education resources and also monitor educational outcomes. Government has the responsibility to ensure that all students have access to quality teaching. And, of course, education systems need government support so that they can meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. The Rudd government has been unequivocal and clear that it will support the strategic development of information and communication technologies for the benefit of all to avoid our education system contributing to the widening gap between the information rich and the information poor.

The criticisms expressed by those opposite in this debate have unfortunately at times been trite and petty, failing to comprehend the breadth and scope of the reforms underway in our education system: the funding of Australian schools, which is the subject of legislation currently before the parliament; the new national partnerships with state and territory governments on quality teaching, a national curriculum and school transparency and accountability, which are the subject of current Council of Australian Governments negotiations for the new education funding framework; the investment in trade training centres in our schools; the billion-dollar investment in the rollout of computers in our schools; the substantial investment in the early years of a child’s education; and, of course, the universal education for four-year-olds—just some items in what is a huge agenda of reform underway in Australian schools.

On this particular piece of legislation, as the Treasurer said in his second reading speech, a key part of the education revolution is helping parents meet the everyday costs of their children’s education. This year’s budget included $4.4 billion over the next four years to create the new education tax refund. It is estimated that about 1.3 million families, with 2.7 million students between them, will be eligible for the refund. The education tax refund is a refundable tax offset of 50 per cent of eligible educational expenses for children undertaking primary and secondary school studies. Under the plan, eligible families will be able to claim 50 per cent of eligible education expenses up to $750 for each child undertaking primary school to provide a maximum tax offset of $375 per child per year. For children undertaking secondary school studies, families will be able to claim 50 per cent of their eligible expenses up to $1,500 per child to give a maximum tax offset of $750 per child per year. The eligible expenses for the purposes of the education tax refund include laptops, home computers, printers, paper, educational software, school textbooks and associated materials and trade tools. In addition, the expenses of establishing and maintaining a home internet connection are also included.

The refund will apply to eligible expenses incurred from 1 July this year. I and many other members of this House, especially on the government side, have been urging families in our electorates to start keeping receipts to allow them to claim the tax offset in their 2008-09 income tax return from 1 July 2009. Those who are not required to lodge an income tax return will be able to access their entitlement to the offset through the Australian Taxation Office by lodging a separate form at the end of the 2008-09 financial year.

I have been meeting with parents, schools, training providers and teachers in my electorate to discuss Labor’s education revolution in public and private schools, high schools, primary schools and special education facilities. I have to say there is a thoughtful discussion occurring across the community about Labor’s education revolution as well as many of the other issues that are alive in our education systems. There is one area that attracts strong support from all quarters, and that is the importance of digital education for the future. There is a recognition that computers, smart boards and digital learning are the way of the future for the 21st century. Indeed, I participated in a meeting with some of the training providers in my electorate of Hasluck and was shown a demonstration of what is now commonly in vogue in many areas around the world: virtual skills training—a computer based operation that shows the person how to weld. They put on goggles, it sounds as if they are welding, it looks to them as if they are welding and yet it is being done in a classroom setting in a computer laboratory. It is likewise with spray painting. Whilst I accept that, ultimately, for a full and rounded education these people will need to demonstrate these skills in a practical workplace setting, nevertheless the opportunity to be exposed to detailed skills training via computers is quite something. It does not stop there. The learning opportunities and capabilities were extraordinary.

It was really brought home to me at one of my local primary schools—a lovely school in my electorate of Hasluck called Orange Grove Primary School. It is a tiny public school in my electorate, nestled in the foothills. It has approximately 120 children and fewer than 10 teachers. I was incredibly impressed when I visited the school earlier this year, especially when the principal, Pat Nottle, told me that from the commencement of 2008 the school had achieved a student-laptop ratio of one to one for years 4 to 7. I told them that they were ahead of the game, because we are still trying to get a ratio of one to two or one to one in most of our high schools, and that I was incredibly impressed to see this already implemented at a primary school. She explained to me that this innovation had not just come out of nowhere—that the school had been engaged in a ‘conversation’, as she described it, with teachers and parents, as well as students, about how best to prepare their children for the 21st century future. The discussion about resources and requirements for their school went for six to 12 months. As she explained to me, their vision was ‘good old-fashioned teaching, combined with the best that new technology has to offer’. It truly is extraordinary to see these children arriving each day at school with their laptop computers and, equally, taking them home again. It is an interesting transition between the work they do at school and the work they are able to do at home.

These children are incredibly advanced in their digital education, and I encourage those of you who surf the net to visit the Orange Grove Primary School’s website and to have a look at some of the work being produced by the children on their Podkids Australia site, which is a series of podcasts of lessons prepared by these particular students. Not only have the children been involved in innovative work at their own school but many of them have been involved in collaborative projects internationally and nationally through the resource of the internet. It truly is an extraordinary achievement for the school, and I know that it is in great part the responsibility of some wonderful teachers who have driven the process at the school.

When I was visiting there I was concerned about how parents in the local area had been able to cope with the potential costs associated with resourcing one computer per student throughout the primary school. I understand that some 20 per cent of parents were identified as requiring some financial assistance. As well as financial assistance for those parents there was an opportunity for people to lease their computers, to pay them off on a periodic basis or to purchase them outright. I will never forget speaking to a group of mothers from the P&C who were—surprise, surprise!—working in the school canteen on the day. They talked to me about how important they saw the future of communication and information technology being in the school. One mother described it to me. She said that in her day her parents had scrimped and saved for the monthly copy of the World Book Encyclopedia and that she saw the lease payment she was making on her child’s laptop as today’s equivalent of that. I have to say that it was an analogy that really rang true to me as I also recall my family scrimping and saving but still having the money for the World Book Encyclopedia and, of course, the regular update that you had to buy each year to keep your encyclopedia reasonably current. I absolutely agree with her that today’s equivalent of having access to encyclopedias is allowing your children to have access to computers and to the internet.

So, unlike the member for Canning, who said in his speech that he saw Labor’s emphasis—and indeed their funding—as a kind of narrowing along a digital highway for schools, I think the future lies down the pathway of digital education. It is a considerably important part of the education revolution. That was a view confirmed to me by the discussions that I have been having with teachers and parents in public and private schools throughout my electorate. And, yes, we know that such an expansion into digital education requires great support and resources. That is why I am proud to be part of Labor’s team that has seen a significant rollout of computers in schools—a program that I know will continue. And that is why I am proud of this particular initiative that will allow parents to claim some of the costs of investing in their own children’s education. These are things of which we can be incredibly proud. I commend the legislation to the House.

Craig Thomson (Dobell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008. The bill will provide extra assistance to families to meet the costs of educating their children. This government proposes to introduce a 50 per cent education tax refund aimed at assisting families with children undertaking primary or secondary school studies to meet the costs of school education through assistance with certain education expenses.

You cannot talk about this piece of legislation in isolation—without talking about the education revolution. I want to spend a little bit of time talking about that and the alternative policies that were put by the former government. In last year’s election campaign the education revolution featured very prominently, with our now Prime Minister and all Labor candidates reaching a contract with the voting public of Australia. The people of Australia, including those on the Central Coast, knew that while our schools were good they could be doing better. People were fed up with our schools and our kids being used as political footballs in a corrosive blame game between the federal and state governments. We had a Liberal federal government at the time that had raised its hands in surrender over reforming our creaking, dated education system. They had gone down the easy road, opting to write media releases blaming state governments rather than embarking on any real reform in educational policies.

We had a lot of talk through the years of the Howard government but precious little action on education direction. The government did not strike up a national conversation about how our schools would teach children in a digital world or about the fact that Australia was slipping substantially in world standards in maths and science and that funding was not giving all Australian kids a fair go. In education the only reforms the Liberal Party seemed interested in were the so-called culture war issues. Instead of addressing a brain drain that was seeing our brightest go overseas and add to other countries’ economies and instead of properly resourcing our tertiary education systems to give our kids a competitive advantage in a globalised world, the Liberals shirked these challenges and instead reverted to their obsessions from their Young Liberals days—like voluntary student unionism and ideological positioning on how history is taught. In fact, the major contribution that the Liberal Party made to education in primary schools was in insisting that they had flagpoles. This is a government that was there for 12 years, and that was their contribution to the education debate!

Not surprisingly, due to their inaction, Australia was falling further behind in world education standards. The former government did an incredible disservice to a generation of young people and to our nation. Our scorecard during their term in office was nothing short of embarrassing. We were ranked 18th in terms of percentage of gross domestic product invested in education. Australian maths and science was ranked 29th in the world. Public investment in universities fell by seven per cent during the Howard years compared with an OECD average of a 48 per cent increase.

Imagine, for a second, instead of gold, silver and bronze medals, that the very best swimmers in the country were only reaching 18th or 29th in the Olympics. Australians would be outraged—and rightly so. We would demand that sports departments invest more in swimming programs from the earliest years. We would demand that our children be encouraged to become the best swimmers so that that would be a matter of national pride. We would not allow ourselves to lose a competitive advantage in swimming and slip behind the US, China and—God forbid!—the United Kingdom. Similarly, Australians are not happy with the way things are going in schools. They may not be worried because of statistics or because of any particular data, but when I speak to mums and dads in my electorate they tell me that more should and must be done.

In 2007 Kevin Rudd brought change to a debate that had been stale and too obsessed with ideological positions rather than with what was in the best interests of our kids and our nation. The Labor Party gave the common-sense argument that there is an undeniable link between the strength of our economy and the strength of our educational systems. In a time of greater economic uncertainty and upheaval it has become clearer that Australia must make real reforms to our education system.

We have promised to improve access to early childhood education; to ensure that our schools focus on achieving higher standards, greater accountability and better results; and to invest up to $1.5 million for high schools to create trade training centres in all of Australia’s 2,650 secondary schools and up to $1 million per high school to allow every Australian student in years 9 to 11 to have access to their own school computer, with the aim of lifting school retention rates from 75 per cent to 90 per cent by 2020.

Nothing strikes a chord more in my electorate than the issue of retention rates. In the electorate of Dobell, retention rates sit at a dismal 44.3 per cent. We are just over 30 per cent behind the national average, let alone the 90 per cent. What parents in my electorate are telling me is that without proper investment in education the kids from Dobell are not going to get an even chance or have the same opportunities as kids from richer areas. Therefore, keeping them in school is absolutely vital and that is one of the key parts of this education revolution.

We have also invested over $1 billion in providing an additional 450 skilled training places over the next four years to help lift the productive capacity of the Australian economy and fight inflation. We have encouraged students to study and teach maths and science by halving their HECS and halving it again if they work in those fields after graduation. And, to keep our best and brightest in Australia, we have doubled to 88,000 the number of undergraduate students receiving a Commonwealth learning scholarship and provided 1,000 new Future Fellowships for mid-career researchers.

In the broadest terms, we believe that the higher levels of knowledge, education and skills right across our population will lead to higher productivity, prosperity and social progress. It is a belief backed up by evidence. Figures from credible world organisations such as the OECD have shown a strong correlation between school completion and higher per capita gross domestic product. The current economic boom may be in the minerals and mining area, but we believe the next one will be built on our knowledge and skills—but only if we increase investments and ensure that investment is well directed.

As I have touched on, the government was elected last year with a central pledge to create an education revolution by raising investment, lifting standards and insisting on rigour from early years to PhD programs. The federal budget earlier this year delivered on those promises. The government’s major commitments comprise an unprecedented $19.3 billion in new investments to create an education revolution that aims to secure our economic future and create an inclusive society.

It is true that Australia ranks highly in terms of test results, but we can and should do better. Worryingly, there is evidence of slippage in our performance at a time when we know that standing still is equal to falling behind. One of the ways we can avoid this is by improving equity in relation to education. The best education systems leave no-one behind. If we continue with an education system that leaves people behind then the children of Dobell are doomed to the sorts of low-socioeconomic jobs that we currently have in my electorate. An education revolution is vital for seats like Dobell.

We need to recognise failure and address it. We need to have a similar psychology towards underperformance in our education and training systems. In other words, we must refuse to accept that low socioeconomic status makes it okay for poorer children to fail at school. The answer is not simple. While higher levels of investment in struggling schools and low-socioeconomic school communities will help, that is not the whole answer. A whole suite of solutions is required—most importantly, investing in early learning, accelerating literacy and numeracy programs, attracting high-achieving graduates to teaching, rewarding quality teaching and arming teachers with an improved national curriculum which provides more effective classroom instruction methods, better facilities and good school leadership.

According to last year’s It’s crunch time report by the Dusseldorp Skills Forum, around half a million Australians between the ages of 15 and 24 are neither in full-time work nor in full-time education. Every year they are joined by another 45,000 to 50,000 early school leavers who should be on the path to becoming skilled tradespeople, paraprofessionals and professionals but who are ending up drifting through casual jobs, often unable to attract a partner or have a supportive network of friends. These young people will not be in a position to buy a home. We know that this work and personal insecurity contribute to homelessness, substance abuse and other tragedies for the individuals involved. Our society as a whole is the loser.

The imperative for getting this right is moral and economic. It has been estimated that the failure of young people to make a smooth transition to the world of work is costing our economy some $1.3 billion per year, and the cost of failure is only going to increase if we do nothing. In the modern economy we simply cannot afford to have around one in five young people not contributing. On the Central Coast, in my electorate, we have just over 20 per cent youth unemployment. We have over seven per cent unemployment there already. Clearly, this is linked to the fact that we have only 44.3 per cent of our students going on from year 10 to year 12.

Fewer skilled workers as a proportion of an ageing population in a knowledge and skill intensive economy will mean declining national productivity. The benefits from success, however, will be substantial. Access Economics has estimated that increasing the proportion of young people completing school or an apprenticeship to 90 per cent would boost annual GDP by 1.1 per cent by 2040—$9.2 billion, or $500 for every household in the country.

We need to start from the position that it is simply unacceptable for teenagers not to have the life and work skills necessary for getting and holding a job. Dropping out or being left behind cannot be an option. So what is the answer? Ultimately it is to keep more young people engaged in education and training to enable them to gain a post-secondary qualification. Today there are five million working aged Australians without a qualification at certificate III level or above.

Some critics have argued that education and training rarely helps people on welfare find jobs and that all we have to do is lower the minimum wage. They are wrong. We saw that type of approach adopted by the former government in their approach to industrial relations and the dreaded Work Choices legislation. We know that at age 24 only 68 per cent of early school leavers are in employment or higher education and training compared to 90 per cent of those with year 12 or its equivalent. This higher level of unemployment for those without year 12 or its equivalent continues throughout life. This is why, through COAG, we have adopted the goal of 90 per cent year 12 attainment by 2020.

The starting point to improving transition is coming to grips with the pattern of change in the economy and pinpointing where the new jobs are emerging. To guide us through this we have established a new body, Skills Australia, and reinvigorated existing industry skills councils. To help us meet the demand they identify for non-professional skills, we are significantly increasing the nation’s trade training effort, including by providing $2.5 billion to existing trade training centres in our secondary schools with facilities that meet industry standards in both traditional and emerging industries and 630,000 new training places, including 85,000 new apprenticeships, with the majority at the crucial certificate III and higher levels. Creating pathways to these training places and professions begins with giving every young person a firm foundation of key learning skills like literacy and numeracy, information and communication technology use and a broad knowledge base across key academic disciplines from maths and science to literature, history and geography.

But, to make the transition to post compulsory education and the world of work, students also need direction, motivation and skills. For that reason, we are supporting a range of initiatives, including $5 billion over four years to encourage mentors for students, $84 million to enable interested secondary school students participating in vocational education and training to access one day a week on the job training for 20 weeks a year, and a job ready certificate for those students to ensure their training includes a range of employable skills that will enable them to move into the workforce. Providing these additional programs will go some way to making a difference, but we also recognise the need to build capacity in the careers advice sector. Over time, we expect these measures to help lower school dropout rates.

Today a number of simultaneous facts—like severe skills shortages, our ageing population and the growth in importance of higher level skills and knowledge based work—mean that the days of turning a blind eye to failure at the bottom are over. The Rudd government is determined to do something about it. We are investing in early learning, improving teaching in our schools, raising standards overall and assisting young people make the transition to adulthood by helping them find a pathway to post compulsory education and employment.

Any help that can be offered to encourage Australians to better educate their children is most welcome, particularly in times of tough financial pressures. A key part of the education revolution is helping parents meet the everyday costs of their children’s education. That is why the budget included $4.4 billion to create the new education tax refund which is proposed in this bill. The education tax refund is a refundable tax offset of 50 per cent of eligible education expenses for children undertaking primary and secondary school studies. About 1.3 million families with 2.7 million students will be eligible for the refund.

Let us recap how Australian families stand to benefit from these changes. Under the plan, eligible families will be able to claim 50 per cent of eligible education expenses—up to $750 for each child undertaking primary school—to a maximum tax offset of $375 per child per year. For children undertaking secondary school education, families will be able to claim 50 per cent of their eligible expenses—up to $1,500 per child—to get a maximum tax offset of $750 per child per year. Eligible expenses for the purposes of the education tax refund are laptops, home computers, printers, paper, educational software, school textbooks and associated materials and trade tools. In addition, the expenses of establishing and maintaining a home internet connection are also included.

The refund will apply to eligible expenses incurred from 1 July 2008. Those eligible for the education tax refund need to start keeping receipts to allow them to claim the tax offset in their 2008-09 income tax return from 1 July 2009. Those not required to lodge an income tax return will be able to access their entitlements to the offset through the Australian Taxation Office by lodging a separate form at the end of the 2008-09 financial year. In addition, consequential amendments will be made to allow effective data sharing about education tax refund recipients between Centrelink and the Australian Taxation Office to enable the ATO to administer and monitor the take-up of the education tax refunds.

Let me remind the House that, for Labor, better education is the cornerstone of a decent society. Education increases productivity and participation. It builds prosperity and it also offers the hope of breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty. While our predecessors spoke of improving Australia’s education system, we are getting on with the job of real education reform. Part of that reform is to help families better meet the costs of educating their children. That is what this bill does. That is why I support it and commend it to the House.

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak in favour of a tax law amendment that will create the new education tax refund. The Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 is tax reform that will help working mums and dads with the cost of educating their children. It is about lending a hand to help working families. Creating this tax reform will help families meet their schooling costs and it will ease the cost-of-living pressures for Australia’s working families.

The Rudd Labor government is delivering on its election commitment by providing this education tax refund. Around 1.3 million Australian families will be eligible for this education refund. The initiative is investing $4.4 billion in financial support to help working families meet the growing costs of educating their children. It will put money back into the pockets of the many Australian families with school aged children. As a parent, I know how important it is to give your kids the best possible start in their education. I am sure that the eligible parents of the 50-odd schools in my electorate will appreciate being able to claim this rebate. In fact, it is estimated that this measure will help the families of around 2.7 million school aged children meet the costs of their education.

As children progress through primary school to secondary school, the cost of equipping them for schooling over those years is certainly a significant one. The delivery of education has changed dramatically in recent times, and we all know that technology plays an important role in how our children are educated. Computer technology is one such example. As the Prime Minister has said on several occasions, computers are the toolbox for the 21st century. The internet and computers link both primary and secondary students to a global world. Computer and internet technologies continue to evolve at a fast pace, and we must ensure that the education of Australia’s children keeps up to speed with this constantly changing environment. To be left behind is not an option. Australian children must be computer literate. The digital economy is a fundamental component of every aspect of business and of our daily lives.

The education tax refund is one measure that could be used to help children keep pace with information and communication technology changes. Eligible families would be able to recoup the cost of purchasing laptops and home computers. The other costs that are refundable under this education refund are home internet connections, printers, educational software, prescribed trade tools for use at school, school textbooks and stationery. Families who receive the family tax benefit part A, or would do so if they were not in receipt of other payments such as youth allowance or the DSP, will be entitled to this new education tax refund for eligible education expenses. Eligible parents will be able to claim a 50 per cent rebate every year for up to $750 of education expenses for each child attending primary school—that is, a refund of up to $375 per student per year. For each child attending secondary school, eligible parents will be able to claim a 50 per cent refund for up to $1,500 of educational expenses—that is, a tax refund of $750 per student in high school per year. I take this opportunity to remind parents to start keeping their receipts for when they lodge their tax returns next year. Those who do not lodge tax returns, as others have said, can get a form from the ATO.

This investment of $4.4 billion is financial support to help over a million working families. It was an integral part of this government’s working families package, which was announced in the budget in May this year. It is part of the $55 billion support package for working families to take the pressure off the household budget. The package also included $46.7 billion worth of personal income tax cuts for working Australians. These cuts will mean that an average family is around $50 a week better off since these tax cuts began in July this year. There was also $1.6 billion to increase the rate and frequency of the childcare cash rebate to help families meet the costs of child care. We have increased the childcare cash rebate for parents with children in approved care from thirty per cent to fifty per cent. The government is also going to make this payment quarterly and, from last month, on an ongoing basis. I know many families in my electorate of Franklin who received this payment in the last fortnight are really pleased to be receiving it quarterly. We have also increased the yearly limit claimable for a child under the childcare tax rebate from around $4,300 per child in care to $7,500 per child. All of these measures will provide families with a benefit of between $500 and $2,500 for an average family with one child in child care.

The package in the budget delivered assistance to working families under financial pressure and will also help prepare Australia for its future economic challenges, and today we face one of the biggest economic challenges. Since the budget the world has changed, and just a couple of weeks ago the Rudd government announced an Economic Security Strategy. This decisive action will provide $10.4 billion to strengthen the Australian economy and to support Australian households during the global financial crisis. The Economic Security Strategy will help ensure our economy emerges in strong shape so that we can provide quality jobs and security for working families into the future. More tax relief will be delivered to families who receive family tax benefit A through a one-off payment of $1,000 for each eligible child in their care as at 14 October this year, to be paid from 8 December over that fortnight. We strengthen our economy and support working families through measures such as these and the education tax refund. We are providing additional relief right now when families need it most, but we also have a plan to ensure we continue to support working families well into the future.

This government committed to an education revolution in the lead-up to the election campaign in 2007. It was an election promise that the Australian people embraced and supported. The Rudd government is delivering on the education plan—the education revolution—which provides for a range of measures. This tax refund is just a part of that. Quality education is one of the greatest gifts we can give our young Australians because it allows our students to achieve personal success and contribute to national strength and our prosperity. To be globally competitive we need a world-class education system, and we believe that every Australian child deserves a world-class education and that this should start at the very beginning. The education revolution has a strong foundation. It is Australian kids that are the focus of the revolution.

An important measure that is critical to delivering the education revolution is around our integrated early childhood initiatives. The Rudd government will invest $2.4 billion over the next five years in integrated early childhood measures alone. Early childhood education and the childcare sector are a critical component in preparing all children for learning and for life. Over the next four years the Australian government will invest over $126 million to train and retrain a high-quality early childhood education workforce. We will also establish up to 260 additional early learning and care centres across Australia by 2014. We are committed to making a difference

Improving the literacy and numeracy of primary school students is also high on the list for the Australian government. In the lead-up to National Literacy and Numeracy Week I was fortunate enough to pay a visit to Warrane Primary School, which is situated in the electorate of Franklin, along with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education. I was really pleased to hear the Deputy Prime Minister announce that the Rudd government will contribute $4 million in funding to expand the Raising the Bar and Closing the Gap pilot program in Tasmanian schools. This pilot program provides targeted support to schools like Warrane Primary to increase the number of children finishing their primary education with functional literacy and numeracy skills. It is a great program and has been well supported by the Tasmanian state Labor government also. Overall, the Rudd government will invest over $40 million in 29 literacy and numeracy pilot projects in schools across Australia. The pilot program is all about getting the basics right at school so we can give our kids a helping hand to reach their full potential. Education measures like this, combined with the education tax refund, go a long way to help Australian families and their children.

The Rudd government is also determined to improve results for those in the secondary school system. The Australian government is committed to lifting the numbers of Australian children completing year 12 or equivalent to 90 per cent of all students by 2020. In Tasmania our retention rates are very low, and I know that the state Labor government is also working hard to meet targets.

As I have said previously, computers and the internet are part and parcel of our daily lives. For students, computer technology and access to the internet are key components of the delivery of education in most Australian classrooms at senior secondary level. This is why the Rudd government has put such an emphasis on digital technology and investing in a digital education revolution. The Fibre Connections to Schools initiative to facilitate high-speed broadband is also progressing. A $100 million funding package has been allocated to this initiative. From this funding the government has allocated $32 million over two years to supply students and teachers across Australia with online curriculum tools and resources. Assistance will also be available to make the best use of information and communication technology, with the development of support mechanisms. This will receive funding of $10 million over three years. In addition, $11.25 million will be directed through state and territory governments for professional development in information and communication technology. Another commitment in the education revolution is the Local Schools Working Together initiative, which will provide over $62 million over four years to construct shared facilities between government and non-government schools. This will increase education options, particularly in growth areas where infrastructure is under strain.

We are investing $1 billion over four years in the digital education revolution to improve secondary school students’ access and to equip them for the jobs of the future. The Rudd government believes there is a need to upgrade ICT in our schools through the digital education revolution. We want our children to have the education tools for the 21st century. More access to computers in schools, combined with tax relief, could also be used to assist children to access computers and the internet from home. As I talk to my constituents across the seat of Franklin, I know the sacrifices that many parents make to ensure the best possible outcomes for their children’s educations. They want them to have access to a home computer and they want them to have access to the internet. Parents are often forced to juggle their responsibilities and their household budgets to pay for the education costs, which have been on the rise over past years. Families are facing a range of cost pressures, including mortgage repayments, petrol prices and grocery bills. When you add the growing cost of education to the household budget, you can understand why these financial pressures exist.

If Australia is to continue to succeed economically, there is no doubt that our Aussie kids who are attending an early childhood learning centre, a primary school or a secondary school today will be an integral component of this nation’s success. We know that education provides these individuals with the opportunity for success. I believe quality education will help prosper this nation. It will also help prosper our children, who will be the next generation to take Australia forward. To achieve this, we need to give Australia’s working families all the extra help we can. If part of this includes easing the burden on their household budgets by removing some of the financial pressure as a way to assist then this is something I fully support. I commend this bill to the House.

Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I very much enjoyed the contribution made to the debate by the member for Franklin. Education is fundamental; it is the basis of a peaceful society, of a prosperous society, of a productive society and of a humane society. The hope for a better world, of course, is in education. The hope to bridge the gap between the haves and have-nots is in education. The hope that we will solve the wars that Australians are currently involved in is in education. The hope that Australia can maintain a country with strong employment is in education. The hope that all Australians can have at least equity and opportunity is in education. The hope for Australians to be healthier and live longer is in education. The hope for Australia to move from being one of the world’s worst polluters per head is in education. The hope that we can solve the mess that we have made of our planet is in education. ‘Education’, in my view, is another word for ‘hope’. That is why Labor’s education revolution is so important.

That is why the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008, as one of the major planks in Labor’s education revolution, is critical. Our future workforce will be dominated by high-value skills and knowledge based industries. Australian manufacturing will be a specialist, knowledge based manufacturing economy. Our employment base in traditional manufacturing and primary and heavy industries has been declining. We need to equip our children with the right skills for these future industries. Today this is an enormous challenge. Of the many failings of the previous conservative government, perhaps the greatest of all was the massive skills black hole that they left behind. Not only is there a huge deficit in the skills and traditional trades; there is also a deep and widespread skills shortage for future industries. As usual, the task of rebuilding the education and skill base of our nation has fallen back to a Labor government—this time a Rudd Labor government. This legislation is an important part of the Rudd Labor government’s commitment to an education revolution. The commitments in this bill seek to increase the attainment level of Australian students across the board and provide better education for our children. The Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008 is aimed at assisting families with children undertaking primary and secondary school studies to meet the costs of school education through assistance with a wide range of education expenses.

This legislation proposes an education tax refund for 1.3 million families with children undertaking primary and secondary school education. It allows these families to claim a 50 per cent tax offset each year. This will provide significant financial assistance to families to help meet the costs of educating their children. Under the education tax refund, eligible families and approved care organisations will be able to claim a 50 per cent refundable tax offset every year for up to $750 of eligible expenses for each child undertaking primary school. This refund equates to a tax offset of up to $375 per child per year for educational expenses incurred. Families who have children undertaking secondary school studies, including vocational education and training courses, will be able to claim 50 per cent of eligible expenses up to $1,500 per child, which equates to a $750 tax offset each year. As a part of Labor’s education revolution, we will also be better supporting teachers and the further development of school curriculums. We are providing a massive boost to the availability of technology in schools as well through our More Computers in Schools program and our support for continuous integration of information technology into education.

This legislation, and Labor’s education revolution, is about providing better opportunities for all Australian children. It is about making sure that all Australian children are better prepared for the challenges of our future. Education and training play an important role in increasing the productive capacity of our economy. School attainment is positively linked to higher levels of employment and labour force participation. The effect of greater school attainment flows into consequently lower unemployment and higher productivity of those in work. This has the effect of allowing higher levels of economic growth without increasing inflationary pressures in our economy. It is a triple whammy: lower unemployment, higher productivity, and economic growth without inflation. That is the equation that the Howard government never got. It is the equation that the Turnbull opposition still do not get.

School attainment assists labour force entry and re-entry and has direct correlation with higher levels of productivity, which has the ongoing effect of providing higher wages. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2006 the unemployment rates for people aged 25 to 64 with no post-school qualifications were 2.9 and 1.3 percentage points higher than for those with post-school qualifications. For those people with a degree or higher, the difference in unemployment rates were even greater. Participation rates for those with post-school education have also been found to be consistently around 15 percentage points higher than for those with no post-school education. The statistics on educational attainment and the impacts on employment and productivity are absolutely clear, and they have been for a long time. By providing financial assistance to families to offset the costs of educating children, we will increase participation rates and increase the level of school attainment.

This legislation ensures families who get family tax benefit part A and who have one or more children undertaking primary or secondary school studies are still eligible for the education tax refund. Those parents with one or more children who would be an eligible child for the purposes of family tax benefit A but for the fact that their child receives certain payments and allowances will also be eligible for the education tax refund. These allowances include youth allowance, disability support pension and Abstudy living allowance. Students undertaking primary or secondary school studies and receiving an independent rate of income support payments may also be eligible for the education tax refund with respect to their own expenses. For families eligible for family tax benefit part A who have shared care arrangements or shared receipt of family tax benefit A, the education tax refund will be shared just as the family tax benefit A is shared between the parents. For those families in similar arrangements that are in receipt of other payments, a similar arrangement for sharing the education tax refund between eligible parents will occur.

In this modern age, the importance of access to the internet for students is paramount. The internet provides an endless resource for students accessing material. Through internet usage students develop improved all-round knowledge and IT skills which are fundamental to the modern workplace. It is significant that a part of this bill is the inclusion of rebates for home computers and associated accessories. This bill recognises the fundamental importance of home computers as an education tool. This bill, through these home computer subsidies, will again help to boost educational attainment across the board. It will also help to address one of the barriers to education for lower socioeconomic groups. Whilst there is obviously extremely widespread acceptance of home computers—and certainly the uptake of broadband in Australia has been enthusiastic, to say the least—it is often the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum that goes without this key study resource. In 2006 to 2007, 64 per cent of Australian households had home access and 73 per cent had access to a home computer.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics publication Household use of information technology, Australia, 2006-07 found that, overall, 61 per cent of people aged 15 years and over accessed the internet at home during 2006-07 financial year. Personal or private was stated as the most popular purpose for internet use at home, with 98 per cent of those using the internet at home doing so for this purpose, followed by education or study, which was 53 per cent of users. Whilst the proportion of Australian households with access to the internet is quite high, the Australian Bureau of Statistics points out that high-income earners and people with higher levels of educational attainment register relatively higher levels of broadband access. Ensuring better access to the internet and IT skills for every Australian is absolutely essential for Australia’s future and for bridging the educational opportunity gap.

The growth in the IT sector in providing employment is very marked. Federal and state Labor governments have been both supporting and driving this industry as part of our key regional development opportunities. In my seat of Corangamite there have been a number of federal and state government initiatives that have benefited local communities. Over the past nine years the Brumby government has facilitated the development and expansion of programs such as the Ballarat Technology Park precinct, which constituents in the northern part of my electorate have benefited from immensely. Recently the Labor state government relocated the Transport Accident Commission headquarters to Geelong. This will generate 850 jobs, providing a welcome boost to the local economy. Many of these are IT jobs. In April of this year Deakin University’s corporate education arm, DeakinPrime, announced a deal with giant Indian IT company Satyam to build a $75 million, 10-hectare complex at Geelong which will, in the future, employ 2,000 people.

Another new technology park is now being planned in the new city of Armstrong Creek sitting within my electorate between Geelong and Torquay. The future employees of initiatives such as the Ballarat Technology Park, the TAC in Geelong and DeakinPrime in Waurn Ponds are going to require the technology skills. That is what this legislation is all about.

This government is conducting broad education reform, providing assistance to families to increase the minimum levels of support available to our children. This legislation goes to the fundamentals of what the Australian Labor Party and the Labor governments are all about. We are the party of opportunity. We are the party that has always provided opportunity for all. We are also the party that thinks ahead for future generations. The conservatives have always been about the benefits for a few, the party of the survival of the fittest or, more accurately, the survival of the most privileged. I often wonder how the Leader of the Opposition could so easily walk away from the values of the communities he grew up in, the communities of his childhood.

This legislation is about providing opportunity, as I have said. It is good for our community. It is good for our environment and it is good for our economy as well. It provides better access to current IT resources. It will raise the breadth of skills for our future economy. It recognises and harnesses the educational role of computers in the home and the role they can play in the education of primary and secondary students. There is a specific provision for computer related expenses that can be claimed against the education tax refund covering purchase, lease, hire or hire purchase costs of laptops and home computers. This includes associated costs of printers and paper, educational software and school textbooks. In addition, the expenses associated with establishing and maintaining a home internet connection are also eligible expenses.

This bill also provides for students to undertake vocational education and training programs which by their nature can sometimes be quite expensive. Prescribed trade tools are expenses that can be claimed under this legislation, which will assist students who wish to undertake vocational education and training programs. This is part of a coordinated effort by this government to increase the retention rates of students to year 12 or equivalent.

In summary, this bill will have a broad educational impact and effect. It recognises a range of things that are important in supporting and fostering educational participation and attainment. It fosters our community. It fosters our economy. Legislation for this measure needs to be in place by 30 June 2009 to allow for individuals to claim the education tax refund in their 2008-09 income tax returns from 1 July 2009. For those who are not required to complete an income tax return, a separate form will be available from the Australian Taxation Office to assist those families access these benefits. Individuals who do not pay tax will still benefit from this important reform. As the education tax refund is a refundable tax offset, any part of the offset that cannot be used to reduce an individual’s tax liability is paid out to the taxpayer. As potential recipients are required to begin keeping receipts for eligible expenses it would be preferable to have the legislation in place as soon as possible. This would enable the ATO to begin providing advice to potential recipients.

In conclusion, I would like to bring attention to the current instability in world markets and the importance of investing in productivity and growth. The most effective way of building productivity and growth is to invest in human capital. This bill is one of our important investments in human capital or, in simpler terms, this bill is about investing in people and investing in all Australians. In the May budget the Labor party included $4.4 billion to create the new education tax refund. This is a real education reform. It is a part of Labor’s education revolution and I commend this bill to the House.

Belinda Neal (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in the House tonight to speak in support of the Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill 2008. The Rudd Labor government is in the process of creating an education revolution in Australia. This bill before the House is another fundamental building block that will underpin that revolution.

I recently spoke in support of the Schools Assistance Bill, another of the government’s education initiatives which came before this House. That bill will provide uniform funding measures for the $28 billion that the Rudd Labor government will allocate to non-government schools in general and recurrent grants across Australia in the next four-year funding period. So I am delighted to be able to speak about another government initiative that strengthens Australia’s education sector and provides much needed financial support to parents putting their children through their years of schooling.

The Tax Laws Amendment (Education Refund) Bill contains measures that introduce an education tax refund, or ETR, for Australian families. To achieve this goal the current bill will amend the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 as well as other pieces of legislation dealing with family assistance, student assistance and other social security measures. The ETR will provide a 50 per cent refundable tax offset for eligible education expenses up to a maximum of $750 for children undertaking primary education studies and $1,500 for children undertaking secondary education studies.

The establishment of refundable tax offsets for educational expenses was a 2008-09 budget measure that fulfilled a 2007 election policy commitment to the people of Australia. The measure will be funded through a $4.4 billion allocation of federal government money over four years. The ETR will offer a framework of valuable financial assistance through a valuable tax offset to all parents with kids studying in schools across the country. It is anticipated that approximately 1.3 million families with approximately 2.7 million students will be eligible for the education tax refund. This is a level of practical support that will go a long way towards defraying the rising expenses of education for a significant number of Australian families. If Australia is to prepare its students for a rapidly changing world, then assistance for parents to meet these expenses is essential.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being 8.30 pm, the debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 34. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting. The member will have leave to continue speaking when the debate is resumed.