Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This morning I am teaming up with the member for Shortland to express on behalf of the Hunter community collective concerns about the impact of the decision by Barry O'Farrell, Premier of New South Wales, to cut $1.7 billion out of school funding. I know our sentiments will be supported by both the member for Newcastle and the member for Charlton. I challenge, in a bipartisan way, the member for Paterson to come into the House today and also support us and to express concern about the impact of these cuts on Hunter communities generally. We really should pause for a moment and ask ourselves: why do we all need to be in here supporting our schools? Surely, we all support better schools for our children? We should not need to be in here having this debate. But, yet again, this week the Premier of New South Wales announced he would be cutting $1.7 billion from local schools—public, independent and Catholic.

This measure will of course affect every school and every student. You do not get better education outcomes by spending less money, although I saw the Premier trying to suggest that was the case in the newspapers this morning. It will mean fewer teachers, fewer textbooks, fewer support staff and fewer computers for our local schools. It will also mean bigger class sizes for our young children. These cuts affect not only schools but, very importantly, our TAFE colleges. It is just so important, particularly in electorates such as mine, which, in the middle of a mining boom, are facing very, very significant skills shortages. We should be investing more in skills, as is the Gillard government, not cutting back our investments in skills training. It will mean that training staff, an apprentice or a trainee will become more expensive or, even worse, that the training they receive will be delivered at a lower standard. That is not good for the broader Hunter community.

It will mean cuts to funding for schools in my electorate such as Maitland Public School, St Patrick's Primary School in Cessnock, Merriwa Central School and a school, which I noted this morning was in the parliament, St Paul's of Rutherford. I understand that it will also mean cuts to the Catholic Schools Office, which was planning for a new school in the Maitland area. I understand and I say this advisedly, because I have not yet spoken to the schools office but I will, that they may now be putting that program on hold. We are already seeing the impact of Barry O'Farrell's cuts. My electorate cannot afford these cuts. It is a disastrous decision to slash $1.7 billion from our schools and our TAFE colleges. It is not about making savings; it is about making choices. Barry O'Farrell has chosen to put school and TAFE students last. That is the bottom line in this debate. We know that these state cuts to schools are just a curtain raiser for what Tony Abbott has in store for the broader Australian community. We can read directly into this and what the election of a Liberal-National Party government at the national level will mean for education standards in this country.

Whenever a Liberal premier picks up the axe, schools are the first to face the chop—this I just do not understand—and Tony Abbott undoubtedly will do the same thing. We know he wants to sack one in seven teachers; we know he wants to cut trades training centres. Every child in every local school will feel the pain of the Liberal and National parties' savage budget cuts.

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Regional Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The member should refer to the Leader of the Opposition by his correct title.

Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I accept that point of order. The Liberals' and Nationals' cuts mean almost 1,800 jobs slashed in New South Wales and are gouging workers and students with an almost 10 per cent increase in TAFE fees and a whopping $1.7 billion in funding cuts. As I said, they are freezing funding to Catholic and independent schools in New South Wales. This again is a glimpse—a very important glimpse—of what it will mean to have the Libs and the Nats running our education system at the federal level.

Mr Husic interjecting—

I thank the member for Chifley for his interjection, because I can see now that the Libs and Nats are trying to blame one another.

I have been roaming schools throughout my electorate in the past months doing Building the Education Revolution openings, and everywhere I find great, dedicated teachers trying to do great things for our local schoolkids. We should be supporting them collectively, not making their work even harder than it is.