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

I would like to share with the House the excitement and pleasure of the people of the Shortland electorate at the wonderful cash injection into the schools in the Shortland electorate. Since the Rudd government has been elected, there has been not only a massive school infrastructure building program—which has seen many new classrooms and the refurbishment of classrooms, school halls, school gymnasiums and school libraries, just to name some of the new infrastructure that has been built in schools—but also the launching of the Trade Training Centres in Schools program, and I will talk about that later this week.

Today I want to share with the House the excitement that the schools in my electorate felt when they received their computers under the computer program that was brought in by the Rudd government after the election. A lot of people who live in the Shortland electorate cannot afford to buy computers for their children; computers are a luxury. Not having access to computer technology means that many of the students attending schools within the electorate do not have access to the same learning tools that students in higher socioeconomic areas do. Under the Rudd Labor government’s computers in schools program, 4,832 computers will be delivered to the students in the Shortland electorate. I think that is phenomenal. I think it is absolutely fantastic, and I know that both the schools and the students appreciate it.

To date, the schools in the Shortland electorate that have received computers are: Belmont Christian College, St Mary’s High School, Gorokan High School, Northlakes High School, Swansea High School, Belmont High School, Lakeside Special School, Warners Bay High School, Hunter Sports High School, Whitebridge High School, Glendon Special School and Lake Munmorah High School. Each and every one of those schools has received computers and they think it is fantastic. But if an Abbott government were elected at the next election, the schools in the Shortland electorate would miss out on computers. The numbers so far are: Belmont Christian College, 29; St Mary’s, 43; Gorokan, 69; Northlakes, 70; Swansea, 51; Belmont High, 80; Lakeside, three, Warners Bay High, 99, Hunter Sports High, 60; Whitebridge, 75—and the list goes on. I think it is absolutely appalling that the Leader of the Opposition has so much disregard for the students not only of the Shortland electorate but of Australia as a whole.

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

Order! In accordance with standing order 193, the time for constituency statements has concluded.