Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This morning I had the pleasure of meeting with representatives of the Australian Education Union, and I rise today to show my support for their fight against the 'Failyou' Baillieu Liberal government in Victoria. As members of this place are all too aware, the Baillieu Liberal government is a pretty hopeless government. It has been dishonest, sneaky and arrogant and has back-flipped on its pre-election commitment to make Victorian teachers the highest paid in the country and on its commitment to the Victoria Police.

The AEU has launched a campaign against the 'Failyou' government, and I urge everyone to get on board. The campaign is 'My School Needs', and it is a fantastic campaign. Some of the placards they have across schools read 'Buildings Not Backflips' and 'Budget Cuts Hurt Our Kids', but I know the members opposite do not really care about public education.

One of my favourite parts of the campaign would have to be the formal notification to all coalition MPs that when visiting a school they must wear a red shirt. I look forward to seeing the Liberal member for Seymour, Cindy McLeish, wearing a red shirt at BER openings at our local schools. I look forward to seeing the Minister for Education, Martin Dixon—most schools would look forward to actually meeting him too—wearing his red T-shirt when he visits public schools. I cannot wait to see Ted in red. As we have always said in Victoria, better red than Ted!