House debates
Monday, 24 May 2010
Questions without Notice
Building the Education Revolution Program
3:31 pm
Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
My question is to the Minister for Education. Can the minister explain why, under the school hall program over which she has presided, a cubbyhouse canteen, like this one at the Orange Grove Public School, could cost taxpayers $25,000 per square metre yet not be able to fit a stove, but a canteen like this one at Holy Trinity Catholic School costs only $2½ thousand a square metre and even has space for coldrooms? Does the minister understand why people like Rick Bennett, P&C chair at Tottenham Central School, whose government-issue canteen cost $600,000 and cannot fit a fridge, could be absolutely, bloody gutted by the waste and mismanagement of the school hall rip-off program?
Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I thank the shadow minister for education for his question, and I await his explanation of the $425 million they want to rip out of quality teaching and the more than $3 billion they want to rip out of education after having governed for almost 12 long years, a wasted decade. But, on the question that the shadow minister has asked me, I will take some advice from the Attorney-General about whether he has breached the copyright of the Australian newspaper. Should it turn out that he has breached that copyright, then I am sure that publishers of the Australian newspaper will take the appropriate action. Having seen the story in the Australian newspaper from which the photograph has come and which has just been held up to the House, I read the words in the newspaper as well.
Kay Hull
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! Has the member for Riverina finished?
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The member for Menzies has the call on a point of order.
Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Speaker, I have a point of order on relevance. This is just waffle. It is not relevant. You should draw her back—
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The member for O’Connor, on the point of order?
Wilson Tuckey (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
No, Mr Speaker, you have just been witness to remarks which, I believe, are a breach of privilege and I ask you to report to the House on that matter. It was a direct threat of a legal attack. This House has dealt with this on a previous occasion.
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The member for O’Connor will resume his seat. I am pretty sure that there is not a prima facie case, but I will have a look at it. If he does not hear back from me, I stand by that point.
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! Order! We will not apply ‘phone-a-friend’. We will have fifty-fifty, and 50 per cent of you will be out! There was a point of order from the member for Menzies, and to that point of order I would caution that there was reference to a program. It may have been placed in such an argumentative way that people might not have realised that. The Prime Minister—the Deputy Prime Minister—
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The House will come to order! Order! It is now time for me to phone a friend! But anyway, on the point of order, the argument having been allowed by me in the question in contravention of the standing orders, there is a little bit of leeway in the answer. The Deputy Prime Minister is responding to the question.
Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
If only they put such energy into developing policies and their budget reply! Coming back to the question from the shadow minister for education, brought to you by the Australian newspaper, yes, I did see the story. Of course, as I have said on the public record on a number of occasions, often the cost comparisons we see published are not correct. But I am very determined that we see value for money. I want every dollar that goes to schools to make the biggest difference for schools. That is why I have appointed the Building the Education Revolution Implementation Taskforce, led by a leading Australian businessman, Brad Orgill, to focus on these questions. I say to the members opposite: if they actually have any serious concerns they should research them themselves, as opposed to just reading things in the media. If they ever spend just one minute doing any work and if they actually have a complaint then they can raise it with the implementation task force.
On the matter of photographs and Building the Education Revolution, I am very happy to say to the House that I have some photographs, and I would love to see them in the Australian newspaper. In this photograph we have the member for Fairfax breaking into song because he is so happy, at the opening of a Building the Education Revolution project in his electorate, at Kenilworth State Community College.
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The Deputy Prime Minster has made her point.
Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
There he is, sitting next to the President of the Senate, John Hogg. Once again, he is very happy to be there, at the opening of a Building the Education Revolution project. I look forward to seeing that photo in the Australian. But then there are some members—
Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Speaker—
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The Deputy Prime Minister will resume her seat. Before giving the call to the member for Sturt, can I say that it is not usual to give advisory rulings. In fact, I try not to do that. But I would suggest to him that he does not, as part of his point of order, try to supplement it by showing things, as he is attempting to do at the moment. So he will place his props back on the dispatch box.
Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order going to relevance. At least my props were relevant to the question. The Deputy Prime Minister’s props have absolutely nothing to do with the answer to the question.
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The member for Sturt will resume his seat. He has made his point. The Deputy Prime Minister is responding to the question.
Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Obviously, what we never see on display from the shadow minister is intelligence or policy other than cutbacks. But, in conclusion, there are some members of the opposition who are so exhausted from turning up at all of their Building the Education Revolution openings—to try and associate themselves with a program that they have opposed in this place—that some of them, like the member for Gilmore, actually send a staff member to the sod-turning because it is all just too much for them to get to every opening. That is the real picture from the opposition on Building the Education Revolution.
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
On the assumption that the interjections were not broadcast, I am ignoring them, but on some occasions I will not do that.