Laura Smyth (La Trobe, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have to say I am very pleased to be following the previous member, a new neighbour of mine, and I am perhaps going to continue some of the themes around investment in education. I am pleased to be able to participate in the same debate this evening. This is what will probably be my final adjournment debate for 2011, and I would like to reflect on some of the things that this year and this government have delivered to Australia as a whole and to my electorate in particular, and to update members on some of the things that have been happening in my electorate in recent weeks.

The year has gone incredibly quickly, in large part, I say, because this has been one of the most productive parliaments and one of the most determined governments that our nation has seen. As a government we have had a keen commitment to supporting jobs growth. Certainly the Treasurer reflected on that very much today, and rightly so. The jobs focus has been very much on display in my electorate, beginning with the economic stimulus, which ensured that hundreds of thousands of Australian workers right across the country were protected in their jobs at a time when the economy was facing volatile activity worldwide and pressures upon it. Australian workers remain employed because of the actions of this government, and I reflect on that each time I pass the social housing development which has been newly constructed to the north of my electorate and which supported several workers locally and many more who were employed from various parts of the state. It is one of the things brought home to me when I visit the many schools in my electorate which benefited from the stimulus package because those initiatives, and so many other initiatives of this government since, have supported jobs and jobs growth so that we now see jobs growth and jobs created to the tune of 750,000 during the term of this government.

In the last few weeks I have had great delight in speaking to children, parents and teachers at one of the recipients of BER funding in my electorate, Timbarra P to 9 school, where I opened impressive new classroom and library facilities funded under that program. I was particularly pleased to speak to the school leadership team, who are very much dedicated to further training and employment of their students. Our focus on education as a government has not wavered since coming to office. We have made unprecedented capital investments. We have begun implementation of a national curriculum. We are delivering an extra $200 million for students with disabilities. In the time available to me, these things are only a snapshot of the great endeavours that have been taken on by this government this year and during its term.

I had the pleasure last week of visiting Harkaway Primary School, where I opened another significant new facility for a school that has stretched through a 135-year history. I know that the enthusiasm and the dedication of the staff certainly have not waned across all those years and all those generations. I was also extremely pleased to visit Gembrook Primary School to open their new BER building, and I know that that school has a very clear interest in and commitment to environmental sustainability. Indeed, it is very often that I hear from school students about action on sustainability and climate change. I was asked questions about these issues when I visited Mater Christi College in Belgrave with the education minister in recent weeks. I was asked the same thing at Belgrave South Primary School in recent weeks. I know that our future generation is very keenly aware that these are the issues that are going to impact most on them. So, in this year of action, this year of delivery, this government, and I as a member of it, has acted on the significant issue of climate change by putting a price on carbon pollution.

In addition to this, I was very pleased to meet a different group of people concerned with climate change, representatives of the very many Uniting, Anglican and Catholic church congregations in my electorate, who came together about an important issue of social justice—namely, the effect of climate change upon some of the world's poorest countries. They brought that issue to me and raised it as something that local people involved in church activities are keenly aware of and are trying to raise the profile of in our community.

We have seen a commitment to education and training, we have seen a commitment by this government nationally and locally to jobs and initiatives that support jobs and we have seen a commitment to action on a variety of things which support future prosperity—a clean energy future and the distribution of the significant wealth of our country amongst a variety of groups within our society.

In the short time available to me I am very pleased to be able to mention the National Disability Insurance Scheme, something that is being campaigned on and is alive and well in spirit in my electorate, as is significant interest in aged care and ageing. Forums on each of these issues were held in my electorate over recent weeks, and clearly the issues that are being focused on by us as a government nationally are very much reflected at a local level. Forums on each of these issues were held in my electorate over recent weeks, and clearly the issues that are being focussed on nationally by us as a government are very much reflected at a local level.